Marooned' & 'Haven's Last Mission'
by Oblique Strategies
Summary: A new city is discovered far beyond the Wasteland, and the people of Haven plan an alliance. But a dreadful mistake leads to another violent war, and Jak and his friends must battle to save the city once again.
1. Skyfire

The spider settled itself under a leaf, carefully hidden a few inches from its soft and sticky web. The evening sky was a bright orange and pink colour as the sun descended over the western horizon, partially obscured by clouds that reflected its radiant glow. The dark blue sea lapped up against the sand of the nearby beach, bringing with it an abundance of seaweed and small crabs, which hurriedly scuttled off to the rocks to avoid being swept out again.

The eastern sky was a dim green, lit by the planet's secondary smaller sun that always remained visible throughout the year. Its rays were not as powerful as the first sun's, but the inhabitants of this world had come to see it as a substantial aid to the planet's ecosystem. The plants photosynthesised even at night because of the green light from this sun. In fact they actually grew faster at night than during the day. The green light gave the chlorophyll within the leaves a healthy charge of energy which helped them to grow, and now, with every passing day, this uninhabited stretch of land grew more and more towards becoming a dense jungle. Right now it resembled a small forest, with the tallest trees being only just under the height of an average man.

But to the spider, this remote area of greenery was a vast hunting ground, with many dark hiding places and secluded spots that it could use to lure in its prey. It was the largest creature in this clump of vegetation, and it knew that well enough to be without fear of getting hunted and eaten itself. It was unchallenged, and everyday rewarded it with many small insects that would get themselves tangled and stuck in one of the nine beautifully spun but lethal webs that were all over the bush it was hiding in.

A bee buzzed into the spider's field of vision. It remained where it was under the leaf, still as stone, watching the bee with all eight of its eyes. It darted this way and that, seeking out some unknown fragrant smell that hung in the air. There were many flowers nearby, on the ground and in the trees, and the bush itself where the spider had its webs also produced its own unique type of petal. That was why each of the spider's nine webs were carefully woven around these petals, to lure in any small flying insects that got too close.

The bee took an interest in one of these petals, and began to hover nearer, not noticing the strange and sticky substance that was laced all around it. Closer and closer it came, drawn in by the scent, and the hidden spider watched patiently for one of its legs to make contact with his web and get it stuck there.

But the bee was focussed on the slowly closing petals, hoping to get just one more round of pollen before the night came. It hovered around the petal, inspecting it keenly before finally landing just underneath it, on a clean patch of leaf that was not covered by the spider's web. It moved slowly around on the leaf, several times nearly obliviously stepping in the web. It made its way closer to the petal, its defences now dropped so it could be ready to collect the pollen.

Then it put its foreleg down onto a sticky web-covered patch of leaf, and it stayed there. Finding itself with one leg immobile, it tried to wrench it free with its others, only to get them stuck as well. The moment the spider had been waiting for had arrived. It lurched itself forward and out from under the leaf, and caught the bee with its two front legs. The bee panicked and writhed in shock and fear, but it could get nowhere. The spider held it down against the leaf, its strength much greater than that of the tiny bee's. Then it got its second pair of legs and used them to mount itself on top of the bee, and then squirted onto it a secretion of adhesive fluid from its spinneret, embalming the struggling bee in a thick cocoon of wet silk. It used its many legs to take full control of the situation, rotating the bee so its silk wrapped all the way around it, rendering it completely engulfed and helpless in the spider's clutches.

Within thirty seconds, the spider had a fully embalmed bee underneath it, and it sat on top of it for a while longer as it squirmed and suffocated inside its cocoon. The spider had a new meal for itself to enjoy that evening, and it maintained its dominance of the grounds in which it lived.

As the life of the bee slowly ebbed out of it, the spider kept its eyes fixed firmly on the squirming bundle beneath it, not losing concentration for a second. But something did distract it. Up in the sky, above the canopy, a loud noise shattered the ambient sounds of the woods. It came quietly at first, but then got louder and louder. The spider kept a tight grip on the bee as the deafening sound ruptured the spider's brain and shook the entire woodland. Several webs were spilt and torn in the cataclysm, but the spider held onto the bee as the sound slowly faded away.

In the sky above, a squadron of Hellcat V4 cruisers zoomed through the air in fixed formation, leading a heavily armed division of J78 Megafortress bombers. Each of them were painted cobalt blue, and had the Freedom League insignia printed on the underside of each wing and on both sides of the fuselage. They were on a mission, a mission to end the long war that had changed the lives of so many people. They were each loaded with ten AtomForce bombs, with a combined capability of flattening mountains and vaporising oceans. It was these bombs that would cause the complete destruction of an entire city that lay over the water, a city that had spent months in a desperate battle against another city just as advanced as they were. Two great forces that had been locked in combat for almost a year, that were now about to be separated for good.

Piloting the leading Hellcat Cruiser was Ashelin, governor of the city of Haven. She was tall, stunning to look at, and an exceptional military leader. She had fiery red hair that matched her volatile personality, and her face was covered in elaborate blue tattoos, a grim mark of her past in the Krimzon Guard forces. She was the daughter of Baron Praxis, the late ruler of the city before her. He'd ruled Haven with a strict and ruthless approach with a propagandistic element to it, concealing the true clandestine natures of a risky agreement that he'd used to stay in power. Ashelin was determined to be a different person than her father, and so far she'd done a masterful job of leading the citizens of Haven through two wars against different opponents. But this war was tougher than the last. In the previous, she'd been up against dark creatures known as Metal Heads. Their tactics were primitive and relied mostly on brute force and strength of will. But these new enemies were smarter than the Metal Heads, and had proved to be a greater struggle. But now, after almost a year of fighting, she was going to vengefully finish her enemies once and for all.

In the cruiser to her left was her force commander Torn. Like her, he had once served in the Krimzon Guard, and had the same ominous tattoos all over his face, but had left the forces after discovering their true violent ways. He'd escaped to the slums of the city and founded an underground resistance force intent on undermining the Baron's increasingly unstable grip on the throne. He'd had secret dealings with Ashelin before, who'd been secretly helping his underground movement by supplying Krimzon plans and tactics, and they had formed an unlikely relationship. Like Ashelin, he possessed a tactical mind, and now they worked together to run Haven City and lead the citizens through two hardening wars.

In the cruiser on Ashelin's right was Jak, a mysterious hero from the past who'd arrived in Haven city almost four years ago in the middle of the Metal Head war. He'd joined Torn's resistance movement, helped expose the tyranny of Baron Praxis, and establish Ashelin as the new ruler. Then he'd been expelled to the wastelands for crimes that he hadn't committed. He was found and rescued by a group of shady outcasts from the city who'd set up their own new town in the desert, Spargus. Here, he became a hardened warrior and returned to Haven to save the people once again. Now he was a venerable and respected hero, a legendary figure in the history of Haven City.

Jak never went anywhere without his personal companion Daxter, a small orange talking Ottsel. Daxter had once been human, but an unfortunate accident that had occurred before he and Jak came to Haven had resulted in him being transformed into his current form for eternity. He had a big mouth, a cheeky smile and an eye for the ladies, even though very few had an eye for him. He'd shared all of Jak's adventures and had experienced many horrors alongside his best companion, and now was just another mission added to their long list of heroic deeds.

As the flying division of bombers left the mainland and zoomed over the coastline, Ashelin spoke into her radio and her message came across back to Haven, where it was received on a radio scanner in Freedom League Headquarters.

"We are over the ocean. ETA to target, two hours."

The other pilots received this message as well, and keeping in formation, continued their long journey to their enemies' city.

"Hey Ash," said Torn's gravelly voice on her radio, "What do you plan on doing once we've dropped the load and ended all of this?"

Ashelin replied, "We should start work on repairing the city. It's received extensive damage during the war, and once our enemies have been dealt with, we need to make the city a great and happy place to be."

"I suppose you want me to help with that then?" said Jak's voice.

"Help if you want," said Ashelin, smiling, "The people might think you've done enough for them already."

"Hey! What about me?" asked Daxter's cocky voice, barely before Ashelin had finished talking.

Ashelin sighed and didn't reply. She instead passed on a message to Torn. "I was thinking of redecorating the port at some point. It could do with a new look. It's so dull."

Daxter wasn't impressed. He had a very nice pub in that sector, and as far as he was concerned, that was the one thing that attracted people there. He wanted to shout another comment into the radio, but Jak wouldn't let him.

For several more minutes they flew over wide and endless ocean, keeping to the course that was set in their on-board computers. They occasionally continued sharing light conversation, discussing the city, the war, and what it would be like once it was all over.

Daxter missed his pub and his booze and his amazing pictures of himself plastered to the walls, but what he missed most of all above everything else was Tess, the only woman he'd ever met who actually liked him. She was an animal lover, and had a permanent residence at his pub. She too was an Ottsel, thanks to the powers of the Precursors. This had made them both very happy, and they'd started to get to know each other a little better since when she was a human.

Daxter slowly sunk into the world of daydreams as he reclined in the comfortable passenger seat of the cruiser. It was a fine alternative to perching on Jak's shoulder all day. Jak himself kept focussed on the mission, imagining the decimation of the enemy city as the four hundred bombs fell from the bellies of their carriers and hit their targets on the earth below. He glanced quickly out of the window to make sure he was still in formation.

The long journey lingered on. Each minute of travelling brought them closer to their target but further away from home. They'd packed up on fuel and had plenty of time to get there and back before the next day came.

Almost half way there, and the formation stayed fixed. But then Torn noticed something. His radar was picking up movement ahead of them. On his screen flashed three grey triangles. But then they became ten, then forty, then sixty.

"Ash, you seein' this?" he spoke into his radio.

Ashelin did, and they both looked out their front windows to see what they were. They had a fairly good idea though.

"Damn sun!" said Ashelin. The low sun they were flying into made spotting things difficult, but then Jak saw them. About half a kilometre ahead of them and several hundred metres lower, a squadron of dark grey jets were flying in a huge diamond formation and coming straight for them. This was an enemy strike force coming to intercept their bombers and prevent them from getting any closer to their homeland.

"They're here!" said Torn.

"What!?" Daxter had just woken from his fantasies and was trying to establish what was going on.

"Strap yourself in, Dax!" Jak warned him.

"Commander, this is bomber FL-032. We're seeing hostile aircraft coming up underneath us. Could do with some assistance!"

"Copy that, 032, we are aware!" Torn replied, "Man your underside guns."

Ashelin gave the order. "Squadron, break off and destroy those incoming jets! Our task is to defend the bombers and escort them safely to their target; don't let them fall!"

The Hellcats pitched down and turned towards the enemy aircraft, while at the same time, they arched up toward the bombers.

The bombers themselves kept going in a steady direction. On each of them, two turrets descended from the underside of the fuselage, each containing a brave man with a heavy machine gun. The Hellcats' roof turrets burst into action, as round after round of heavy bullets were shot at high velocity towards the incoming jets.

The jets performed evasive actions and dodged the incoming fire. What happened next was a mad flurry of firing and insane manoeuvres, as one set of aircraft tried to shoot down the bombers, and the other tried to defend them.

The bombers themselves were helping out with their underside machine guns, and scored several hits. The Hellcats were skilfully pursuing the grey jets as best as they could without carelessly flying into anyone else. Ashelin, Torn and Jak were the ones doing the most work. The other pilots kept their cool and went after any jets they saw opening fire on the bombers.

Some bombers did catch fire and went down into the ocean, and the cockpits of the Hellcats filled with the screams of the dying pilots. They tried their best to ignore them and kept their heads in the fight.

Ashelin took down the jet she was following with a good round of fire to its tail fin. It sheared right off and the hydraulic fluid splattered all over her front window as the jet lost control and spiralled down into the waiting ocean.

Torn nearly had a collision with the jet he was pursuing as it unexpectedly pulled off a fast one-eighty turn and came straight at him. He had to pitch down very quickly to avoid a crash.

As for Jak, he was shooting down as many jets as he could possibly see. His cabin and those of the other pilots were filled with the triumphant cries of "Whoohoo! You did it Jak!" as Daxter excitedly celebrated in his seat. He swooped in underneath another jet and created in the underside of it a long line of bullet holes, penetrating the fuel tank and several electrical cables, which culminated in a mighty explosion that tore the jet apart.

Daxter once again shouted in victory and punched the air above him, but immediately threw himself down on the seat as the cruiser started taking hits. Jak swerved and Daxter hit the floor, but the jet followed him. Jak couldn't shake him no matter what he tried.

"I've got your back, Jak!" said Torn, and a round of bullets tore through the jet's left wing, severing it and sending it down, out of control.

"Thanks, Torn!" said Jak.

"That was too close!" shouted Daxter, pulling himself back onto his seat.

Two more jets worked together to take down another bomber, blasting the tops of the wings and perforating the ailerons, and then tearing up the leading edges. The bomber peeled off to the right and nose-dived into the water.

Ashelin had seen this, and mercilessly fired at the jets' cockpits. The front window of one shattered and the interior was covered in blood, and the other's nose got bent out of shape, rendering flying in a straight line impossible. This jet shot off to the left and crashed into one its comrades who was busy shooting at one of the Hellcats. Both erupted in a ball of fire and went down in six different pieces.

"Nice!" shouted Torn.

"Thanks! Keep shooting and watch yourself!" she shouted back.

All the Hellcat pilots battled on bravely, supported by the heavy fire from the bombers' defensive turrets. More jets went down all over the place, and so did a few bombers.

"Don't let them take down another bomber!" shouted Ashelin, "Or we might not have enough to finish the job!" After facing these relentless enemies for nearly a year, and repairing Haven City countless times after severe bombing raids, she felt nothing but hatred for them. All she wanted to do was completely annihilate all that was left of them.

The aerial battle continued for several minutes. In that time, several Hellcats had gone down, and the remaining ones had to increase fighting power. When it looked as though they were going to win, Jak shouted, "Enemy reinforcements!"

A new squadron of jets had just appeared from above the clouds. They dived down, guns blazing, and caught the pilots completely by surprise. Jak intercepted them as they zoomed by, avoiding most of their bullets. He brought one down, but the others kept going. He issued a radio message requesting more Hellcats to take them out.

Torn lead the charge with six more Hellcats behind him. They fired right into the middle of the group, setting some on fire and lightly damaging the rest. Another mad cloud of aircraft entwined as they each tried to shoot each other down. Then Torn received a blow which shook his entire cruiser. His warning alerts kicked in and he hurriedly pressed buttons while trying to fly steadily at the same time.

"I'm hit!" he shouted.

"Torn! You're on fire!" shouted Daxter.

The roof turret of Torn's Hellcat was ablaze, and his guns wouldn't shoot anymore. He was a vulnerable target, and both Jak and Ashelin flew in to defend him.

"Maybe I can put this fire out," he said, reaching for a small fire extinguisher.

But then things took a turn for the worse. One of the enemy jets spotted Torn's crippled cruiser and turned on him. Ashelin took off to intercept it and buy Torn some time. But the jet was fast and out-manoeuvred Ashelin's attacks. It came down towards Torn, but Jak suddenly shot forward in an act of defence.

The jet's wing clipped the nose of Jak's cruiser, and both aircraft struggled to regain control. Daxter was panicking as Jak fought with the steering wheel, and the jet couldn't seem to right itself as it went down towards the water. Jak was heading the same way.

"AAAAHHHH!!!! JAAAAAK!!!!" screamed Daxter, throwing himself around the cabin.

"Daxter! Strap yourself in! We might have to ditch!" Jak ordered. But Daxter either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.

Ashelin's worried voice called through Jak's radio, but there was little she could do. Jak was losing control and alerts were going off all around the cabin. With every second he was getting closer and closer to the water. Soon he'd be in it.

There was no way he was going to regain control now. He was speeding towards the water head first, and the engines were whirring into overdrive. The only thing he could do was pull the nose of the cruiser up so the underside hit the water first, that way it wouldn't shatter on impact.

"Hold on, Dax!" he shouted, pulling back on the steering wheel with all his strength. The nose of the cruiser began to rise up slowly, and Daxter was now randomly gibbering.

"Come on!" screamed Jak through gritted teeth. The nose went up higher and the water got closer. Now he could see the waves pulsating over the surface of the ocean, and then with a mighty explosive splash, he hit the water. The nose wasn't all the way up, and the front half of the vehicle hit the water first. The front window shattered and the sea poured in. The back of the cruiser snapped off and Jak's seat collapsed. The controls before him fizzled and died, and the airbag on the steering wheel inflated. All of this happened in less than a second, and it was the last thing Jak remembered when he blacked out.


	2. Disclosure

It had been a long day in Freedom Headquarters for Torn. Now that the war for Haven City was over and all enemies were vanquished, there wasn't much action for the Freedom League now, except for maintaining order in the city, and monotonously patrolling the streets like in the old days of the Krimzon Guards.

But he did have one thing on his mind. Ashelin had mentioned a huge clean-up operation that was to commence now all the fighting had ceased. Most of the city was in pieces after the year-long struggle against the Metal Heads and the robotic KG Forces.

It was about time too. The people were tired of constantly defending their homes day-in, day-out, and waking up every morning to the sound of gunfire right outside their front windows. They were also demanding the resurrection of their great stadium and the lush garden areas. Both places had been rendered nearly inaccessible after the collapse of the old palace. The Metal Heads had even commandeered one of the gardens and converted it into a city for themselves. What was once a nice green vegetable covered location for people to relax in had now become a stinking festering pit of slime and acid, littered with infectious dark eco and living earth that would swallow and digest anyone who didn't watch their step. And of course there were the remnants of the Metal Heads' enormous organic tower that had set the limits of the city's new skyline.

This job would require many men and a lot of high-tech equipment to restore the gardens to their former glory. As for the stadium, it lay in ruins at the very north of the city, and many more men would be needed to venture into that dangerous and dilapidated section. He was going to nominate himself to lead the expedition, once he had Ashelin's approval.

That annoying rodent Daxter was also protesting for the return of his bar in the port. It had been used as a secondary base for the Freedom League during the war, and it was still a mess and littered with important material. He'd see to that eventually though.

These enormous tasks plus a general repair of everywhere else in the city would take a very long time, and keep everyone busy for years possibly. It was a job that would require the co-operation of everyone, as everyone had been affected by the war. No one had yet calculated the complete number of casualties, and Torn didn't think they ever would.

The day was slowly coming to an end as Torn sat in his office with his feet resting on his desk. He was thinking about what the future might hold for the city. No one was sure of what was going to happen, but right now, what he needed to do was speak to Ashelin. He needed to know more about this big clean-up.

He stood up and shuffled towards the door. When he opened it, he found someone standing on the other side. It was a Freedom Fighter, clad in his blue armour and carrying his helmet under his arm. Torn knew him. His name was Olto, and he was a fairly new member of the Freedom League who had joined late in the war and had had little chance to prove himself. He now obviously planned to make up for it in the clean-up program.

"Commander, I bring a message from the governor!" he said in his most official sounding voice.

"I was just on my way to see her, actually," Torn replied.

"I recommend you head there immediately, commander," continued Olto, "She has discovered something unexpected and requests you to see her in the Power Station as soon as possible."

Torn was puzzled. He wanted to discuss the clean-up, and what could she have found that was important enough to change the subject like that?

"Thank you, private," he replied, "Return to your duties, and stay safe."

"I will. Thank you, commander." He marched off down the hallway, replacing his helmet as he went. Torn went the other way and into the lift, which took him down twenty floors to ground level. He walked through the back door into the hangar at the rear of the building where a Hellcat Cruiser awaited him. This was one of the new V4 range, and it handled like a dream, much better than the clanky old models used in the war.

Torn switched on the engine, and the cruiser came to life. It hovered upwards, and Torn flew it out into the sky through the opening ceiling.

As he flew around the city to the Power Station, he looked around at the areas that needed repair. The slums had definitely seen better days. Actually they'd never looked very good to begin with. The repairs had already begun here, and there were people carrying building materials around, small machines filling in craters in the road, and several Freedom Fighters supervising the entire effort.

As he entered the Industrial region of the city, he could see that it also needed a refurbishment. The KG Forces had taken this part of the city for themselves during the war, and now it looked a huge mess. There was reconstruction going on here too, but he felt as if this part of the city should be started again from scratch.

Before long, he arrived at the Power Station and parked his cruiser close to the wall where it was out of the way of the reconstruction work. Ashelin was already waiting for him at the door, and called him over the moment she saw him.

"What is it? What have you found?" asked Torn, "Is it important?"

"It's beyond importance," said Ashelin, "Our long-range radio scanners picked up something and I think you should hear it."

They entered the Power Station, where several computer workers were intensively typing on keyboards and monitoring on-screen readings, keeping a sharp eye and ear on everything. Vin was hanging around in his new digital form, watching everyone and occasionally gibbering to himself. When he saw Torn, he perked up.

"Hey Torn, how ya doing?" he asked. Torn ignored him and said nothing.

Ashelin handed him a set of headphones that were plugged into a device that was wired to a large dish atop the building.

"Listen, and tell me what you think," said Ashelin.

Torn took the headphones and put them on.

"Play the signal," Ashelin ordered a nearby attendant, who immediately pressed a combination of buttons.

What Torn heard was a garbled layer of white noise and digital frequencies. But another sound could be heard behind that. It was a single very low vibrating noise that sounded almost like an explosion or a sonic boom. It was nothing like he'd ever heard before. It didn't fit in with the usual radio noises that always appeared on recordings. Torn was immediately perplexed and he didn't know what to make of it.

He removed the headphones and looked at Ashelin. "When did you detect this?" he asked.

"Only about an hour ago," replied Ashelin.

"Hmm," said Torn, "There won't have been any Hellcats in the air then. Where did this come from?"

"About twelve kilometres to the north-west, beyond the mountains. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," he said, "I don't know what could have made it. It doesn't sound like any of our vehicles, and no one would be flying one that far away from the city. This is strange."

"What if it wasn't something of ours?" asked Ashelin.

"What do you mean?"

"What if we're not the only people out here?"

"Ashelin, there are no other cities out there except Spargus," said Torn, "Haven was the only survivor of the Metal Head invasion. There can't be anyone else left."

"But what if there is?" asked Ashelin, "What if there's another settlement far beyond the reach of our long-distance scanners, and they've been living there all this time, unaware of us?"

Torn was getting frustrated. "I'll have to go back to Freedom HQ and start an investigation. I'll have to gather information from everybody and find out exactly where they all were at the time of this recording."

"I'm worried, Torn," said Ashelin, "If it did come from another city, that noise sounded advanced. And what is their technology like, and are they friendly?"

"But it might not have been intelligent," said Torn, "It might simply have been a natural occurrence like the weather or some kind of indigenous creature. Look, just leave it to me. You concentrate on initiating the city's clean-up effort. I'll get to the bottom of this, one way or another."

"OK Torn, good luck," said Ashelin.

As Torn returned to his cruiser, he felt uneasy. It was undeniable to him that what he'd heard on that recording was something new and unexplained. He needed to find out where it had come from and thoroughly interrogate all of his patrols and scouts. Something needed to be done about this.

Ashelin was right. This was serious, and if she was correct about the presence of another settlement, it would change the entire history of the world.

He climbed into his cruiser and headed back for Freedom HQ.

Someone who'd be helpful in a situation like this was Jak, who knew a lot about the world before the Metal Head invasion. Of course, he couldn't help much with what happened during or after that, but he could give an idea of what life was like before Metal Heads populated the land.

He'd talk to him if his investigation proved unsuccessful.


	3. Sand, Sea and Stone

When Jak awoke, it was night. He was drifting aimlessly in the sea clinging to a piece of wreckage. He looked around but couldn't see much. It was too dark. His head was spinning and he was trying to remember where he was. The sea was calm and the wind was still, which was good because Jak wouldn't have the strength to survive in rough weather.

He could recall the enormous air battle and Torn trying to steady his cruiser, but not much after that. He tried to think harder but it hurt his head. He tightened his grip on the material he held on to, and his head was blank for a number of seconds. He just felt the force of the tide carrying him to wherever it was planning on taking him. His feet hung in the water, and his shoes were missing. He'd also lost his goggles, his gauntlets, his weapons and his shoulder pad where Daxter always sat.

Daxter! Where was he?

Life returned to Jak's mind as he raised his head and looked around a second time, trying to locate his friend. It was still too dark to see properly, and Jak didn't know what to do. He was scared. He was alone. He was at the mercy of the sea.

He waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and then looked again. There wasn't much point though. Daxter couldn't be seen anywhere, there were only black undulating waves. He felt hopeless. There was no way he could find Daxter, he could be anywhere in this entire ocean.

But then he saw a mass floating in the water to his left. It was darker than the sea, and moved only with the motion of the waves. Jak slowly turned the piece of wreckage and kicked his feet, and he began to gradually move forwards. It was a struggle, and he was sapped of all his energy.

As he got closer, he reached out for it and pulled it towards him. It was his shoe. Well, at least he was reunited with something, even if it wasn't Daxter. He managed to reach down and place it on his foot, and then slumped onto the wreckage again. He couldn't do anything else. He just had to go where the current took him.

His head wasn't hurting as much now, so he resumed thinking. He began to recall parts of the battle, piece by piece. He remembered first spotting the enemy jets and engaging to attack. He could remember the bombers going down in a stream of flames, and Ashelin aggressively blasting the enemies out of the sky.

Then he remembered how he'd crashed. His memory was a blank after he'd hit the water, and he was wondering whether his sacrifice had helped Torn or not. He hoped it had. He also wondered who'd won. As far as he could vaguely remember, a lot of enemy jets had gone down. He wondered if the bombers ever got to their destination and ended the war.

His head was starting to hurt again, so he stopped thinking and looked up above him at the dark clouds. They all appeared like one huge blanket over the sky. He tried to search for any aircraft that by some chance might still be up there. But he could see none. The fight could have happened miles away from where he was now, or hours ago. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious or how far he'd drifted.

If there were survivors, surely they'd start a search and rescue mission and come looking for him. But there was a lot of ocean to search. They might never find him. Worse, there might not even be anyone left. He might never be found.

He thought about everything he'd been through and all the people he'd met. He thought about all of his great friends and his amazing adventures, all the lives he'd saved and all the great times he'd had.

He drifted for a long time, getting weaker by the minute. But then the clouds parted above him and the green sun shone through. Now there was a little more light to see by. Jak looked up and ahead of him he suddenly saw another mass in the water. It was bigger and further away than the last one, but Jak slowly paddled towards it. As he got closer, it grew bigger. The tide was helping him now, pushing him along and increasing the speed of his progress.

Then he got there. He seemed to get enveloped by the mass, and his feet touched something soft. Then a wave pushed him further until he lay still. He still hung on to the wreckage, even though he seemed to be safe now. He lay in shallow water getting lapped by the waves, too exhausted to move. The gentle wind blew on something ahead of him, making a rustling sound. He outstretched an arm and what he felt wasn't water, but wet sand. He picked up a handful and it ran all down his arm.

He'd reached land. But he was too tired to get up and look around. He fell asleep right there on the dark shore in the waves.

When the sun came up the next morning, Jak awoke slowly. He was still pretty exhausted, but he had more strength than he did before. He slowly lifted himself up off what he was lying on, and he saw it to be a piece of his blue Hellcat Cruiser. It looked like the underside, because it was the right kind of shape, and there were rivet holes where the seats had been attached. The colour was fading and it had rusted a little in the water, but it was all that was left of it.

Jak slowly raised himself to his feet and squinted as the sunlight got to him. He saw that he was on a long sandy beach, dotted with shells and dark green seaweed. The sand was very thick and sloped upwards towards some greenery, a light forest that lined the beach. The trees were five times as tall as he was, and had leaves only at the bottom where strange blue buds grew. Up the trunk there were no branches, and they remained that way until the top, where they widened again to form a sort of large round sphere of bark. These spheres were darker in colour than the rest of the tree, and had funny tufts of brown fur on them. Jak didn't know much about plant life, and he'd never seen trees like this before. Where was Samos when he needed him?

However, the trees weren't that important. Jak looked to his left and the beach and the trees carried on. The same was on his right. The land seemed to curve around and disappear behind the trees, it wasn't endless. He turned around and looked behind him. The sea was washing up on the wet sand about twenty feet away, and it continued towards the horizon, where the two met and seemed to become one.

Jak was somewhere he didn't know. But this wasn't the first time he'd been thrown into an unfamiliar setting; it was just the previous time he hadn't had much of a chance to get his bearings. However, this was different, and he was clearly alone as far as he could see. There were no visual signs of life.

He managed to keep calm and focus his mind on what the best thing would be to do. He decided, after a little while, to walk around and explore where he was. He needed to know what this unknown area of the world held for him.

He walked off to his right at a steady pace. He was almost completely dry now, and a walk would finish the job. He stepped across the beach, following the forest line and keeping an eye out all around him for any signs of danger or activity. He couldn't see much, just trees, sand and water.

Eventually the forest stopped, and the shoreline curved around it and continued around the corner. There was a big rock half-submerged in the water here, and it looked nothing special. Just a big plain rock. He carried on around the curve, and he was faced with another scene similar to the one he'd just come from. The sand and the trees carried on down that way. Jak turned back and headed down the way he'd just come, and back past his piece of Hellcat wreckage. He walked along the other way of the beach and came to another curve in the land. This also looked exactly like it had done at the other end of the beach. It just went on.

Jak was beginning to suspect that he was stuck on an island. He didn't know for sure, but it certainly looked that way. He had to find out though.

Maybe there was someone else on this suspected island that could help him.

"HELLO!" he called out. His voice was rough and dry, but he'd shouted loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. "IS THERE ANYONE THERE?"

He received no reply. He called again, but there was still nothing.

That was it then. He was stuck on what was probably an island with no one else for company. But since now he had a better idea of where he was, he started to venture out a little more. He returned to where his life-saving piece of wreckage lay, and dragged it up the beach. He was surprised how light it was, and was unsure of how it had managed to support him out at sea. But it was large and quite flat with a sizable surface area.

He dragged it up to the start of the forest, and dropped it there. He went in by himself first to have a look around. It seemed quiet and undisturbed. He walked in a little further over the sand, and it slowly became grass. The forest itself was not very dense. There were considerable gaps between each tree, but they provided him with shade from the sun. As far as he could see, the forest was uninhabited and provided a safe place for him to rest. He went back and retrieved his piece of wreckage, and dragged it under the trees. He propped it up against one of them to make a small shelter, with two walls and a small roof. It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do for now.

Next, he set out to do some exploring. He walked further inland and through the forest. Most of where he walked through was covered with trees. Sometimes they were spread out widely and sometimes they were clumped close together. The vegetation was a little more varied inland. There were odd red bushes that sprouted four or five large leaves that spread out at ground level. There were thin plants as tall as he was, on which grew stringy little green seeds. He would have to survive off these if the need came to it, and he remembered where they were.

He didn't see anything that could be perceived as a threat, but walking through the forest with only one shoe on slowed him down. There were spiky little plants that grew on the ground that made walking with his shoeless foot difficult. He tried to avoid them where he could, but they grew in abundance.

He later came to a part of land that sloped upwards and was vacant of trees. It appeared to be a small hill, and Jak began to climb it. From up there, he'd be able to see if it really was an island he was on.

The hill wasn't very steep, and on top was a single tree, smaller and a different type than all the rest. When he got to it, Jak took a brief look at it and then looked all around him. He was above tree level now, and all around him, the horizon met with the sea. He was definitely on an island. The trees stretched right out to the beach in every direction, and the way he'd come was the shortest distance. He could tell that the island was an imperfect rectangular shape, with a small spit of extra land extending into the sea at one of the corners.

He noticed that at the bottom of the opposite side of the hill he'd climbed up, and a little further into a clump of trees and bushes, was a lake. He could tell it didn't join up to the sea in any way, and could possibly be a source of clean water, safe to drink.

Then Jak took another look at the small tree atop the hill. It was twice as tall as he was and had leafy branches all over, and on these branches grew little white berries. He decided to harvest a few of them and slip them into his small backpack, which he'd retained after the crash. Then he went down to investigate the lake.

It was a clear blue colour that clearly wasn't connected to the sea, and it was situated underneath many trees that were of a different type to those where he'd set up his shelter. These trees were similar to the trees he'd seen back in Haven Forest; full and leafy and green. They had many branches but didn't grow any kind of seed or fruit. Jak bent down at the edge of the lake and dipped his hand in, cupping some water in his palm. He brought it back up and tasted it. It was great! Nice and fresh and cool, and very suitable to drink. It came as a great refreshment to him, to taste clean water once again. He'd accidentally swallowed some of the salty sea water numerous times whilst adrift the previous night, and it had made his throat sore and rough. Now that he'd tasted this lake water, it felt much better. He took some more slurps and washed his face and his hands in it. Then he pulled some round leaves off a nearby bush and some oval shaped ones off another. He stripped the oval ones until only the main central veins were left. He wrapped a few around each other to make a durable string, and then curled the round leaves into a cup shape, using the string he'd made to tie up the tops. He didn't tie them up completely, leaving a small hole in the top. He used these to carry water as he dipped them in the lake, and withdrew them and tied them up fully. He now had several pouches of water, which he put into his bag with the rest of the berries.

He then backtracked over the hill and back towards his shelter. On his way, he picked up a few more of the strange plants he'd seen. He also took one of the large leaves off one of the red bushes and wrapped it around his shoeless foot to protect it. It was a pretty thick and durable leaf and it worked well.

He returned to his shelter with a bag full of supplies. He took out another red leaf and lay it out on the ground, and emptied the rest of his bag's contents onto it.

First he separated out the water-filled leaves and put them in his shelter, then he tried one of the white berries from the tree atop the hill. It was very sweet and juicy, and didn't seem to have any ill effects on him, so he kept them safe with the water. He'd have to be careful of how many of those he ate, as he'd only seen one berry bush on the island so far, and that was the one on the hill. He'd have to save them and eat them periodically in order for the bush to grow back a new batch.

Next he tasted some of the stringy seeds from the plants he'd passed, but they weren't as good as the berries. They tasted like dried bean-pods and felt more like roots in his mouth. They didn't harm him at all, they were just distasteful. Jak put them to one side while he looked at what else he had.

He'd also picked up some blades of sweet-smelling grass and they tasted OK. There was also a handful of bean-type things that he'd found close to the hill, and they were quite nice, so he moved them over into his newly formed pile of safe food. He decided to throw the stringy seed things away, and he promised himself that he wouldn't eat those again unless he really had to.

He looked out towards the beach, and saw a horde of crabs coming inland as the tide retreated. They might work, he thought. He'd eaten crabs before and quite liked the taste of them. Whether these crabs would be any different, he didn't know, but he'd probably have to find out.

He needed something to catch them with. He looked around at everything surrounding him and tried to use his imagination. He could sharpen a stick, he thought, but what with? He remembered the big rock in the sea. It had rather jagged edges, and maybe it could be used to his advantage. He could also break off pieces of it and use them as tools. He stood up and walked back into the forest, where he found a tree with thick strong branches. He twisted one off that was almost as long as he was tall, and brought it back with him.

He made his way back to the rock, which was now less submerged in the water and easier to get to. He removed his shoe and his leaf and stepped into the shallows. The sand around the rock was full of smaller stones that could come in handy later, so he picked up a few of them and threw them back at his footwear lying on the beach.

Then he examined the rock. It was predominantly covered in seaweed and was slimy to the touch, but several jagged edges poked out from underneath. Jak scraped his stick along one of them, and it took a long peel of bark clean off, exposing the white layer underneath. He continued, and removed all of the bark. Then he very carefully chiselled one of the ends into a point, and sharpened it until it was a good sharp spike. He now had a spear, and he could use it to help him survive on the island.

He returned to the beach, picked up his possessions and took them back to his shelter. There were still a few crabs scuttling about on the sand, and he used his spear to skewer them cleanly through the shell. The first one he caught, he lifted up and snapped one of its twitching legs off. A sticky orange liquid flowed out of both ends, and Jak caught some on his finger and licked it off. It wasn't too bad. It didn't taste like the crabs he'd eaten in the past, but it was almost as good.

He took the crabs back to his shelter and ate a few more, keeping the rest safe for later. Now that he'd established what was safe to eat, he turned to the rocks he'd picked up. They were the same colour as the big rock in the water where he'd made his spear, and they were very shard-like. He picked up a large one and a smaller one, and started knocking pieces off them. He carefully fashioned them into pointed shapes, using the rocks themselves as blunt chipping tools. Soon, the small one was starting to look like a little knife, and the big one looked more like a blade or an axe.

Very soon, he was holding two sharpened rocks in his hands. Grabbing some provisions, Jak ventured back into the forest. He returned to the tree he'd got his spear shaft from, and snapped off another branch, shorter than the last, and put it into his backpack. He looked around for some more suitable tree branches, and found some similar to the first.

After snapping off about half a dozen, he returned to his shelter and sat down with them. He stripped off all the bark just as he had done with his spear, removed any extra twigs, and then split the top end down the middle with his stone. He created a gash about half a foot long, until he could see light through it when he held it up. Then, he wedged his stone into the split until it was solid and wouldn't move. He picked up all the long bark strips he'd shaved off it, and wrapped several of them around each other, making a sort of rope. With this, he reinforced the stone wedged into the stick by tying it around the end and holding it in place. He stood up and swung around his newly formed axe. The stone stayed in place and he was pleased with his progress.

He spent the rest of the day collecting more food and crafting more tools and weapons. He explored some more of the island and came across a second lake of clean water on the other side of the central hill, a fair distance from the first one. He remembered the location in case he needed it, and it was very possible that he would.

He collected some more wood from the trees with his axe, and used them to further improve his shelter. The metal piece of his Hellcat was now the roof, and it was held up with four strong sticks, all tied together with bark rope. He'd laid some big red leaves down underneath to act as a bed. They weren't very comfortable to sleep on, but Jak was used to living rough. He used some of the leaves from the odd trees on his side of the beach to cover himself, and though they worked well, they weren't perfect.

As night arrived, Jak readied himself for a good rest. He'd need his energy if he was going to survive on this island. He was used to going long periods without sleep, but now he decided that it was time for a change.

As he lay underneath his shelter, his thoughts suddenly returned to Haven City and all of his friends who he might never see again. He thought about Daxter, and how he missed his best friend and his company. He tried to accept that he was most probably dead, but his mind didn't want to agree. He knew that Daxter couldn't swim, and the impact with the sea must have broken his body. He hadn't been wearing a seatbelt, unlike Jak.

As sleep took him, Jak's final thoughts that day were with Keira. He thought back to the last time they were together in Haven. He imagined what she must have been feeling, when he'd failed to return from the bombing run. If no one else had returned either, then the whole city would be worried.

Jak thought no more as he finally drifted into an uneasy sleep, the only sound around him being the waves gently washing up on the sand.


	4. A Retelling of History

Torn had been back at the Freedom League Headquarters for a couple of hours now. It was late at night, and though he was tired, he needed to investigate this strange and sudden mystery. He'd interrogated all the guards on duty, and had found nothing of interest from them. They'd all been where they were supposed to have been, stationed at their posts or patrolling the city.

He also went down into the hangar where all the cruisers were kept and looked after. He checked the records of the day, and none of them had left the hangar, except for his when he went to the Power Station to meet Ashelin. This just led to more questions. What had made that noise on the scanner? Had there been anyone there with it? Why had they never picked up anything like that before? Where did it come from?

This was a real mystery, and Torn was nowhere near solving it.

Torn's guess was just as good as anyone else's, but he queried it as an unidentified signal from unknown origins. There was only one way to know for sure. He'd have to dispatch a squad of scouts to investigate the area the sound was detected for any signs of activity. But first, he needed to speak to Jak. He knew a lot about the world before Haven City was founded, and may be able to give some clue as to who might inhabit those regions, or how they might have got there.

In his office, he picked up his communicator, set the co-ordinates to contact Jak, and spoke into it.

Jak was in the port, and Daxter was making him clean up the mess inside his saloon. Though he was still waiting for Torn to say it was OK for it to be returned to him, Daxter was just too eager to get back in there. He sat on the bar table, drinking with his newly established and recently transformed partner Tess, and watching Jak do all the housework.

Jak thought to himself, 'is this what heroes become when all their work is done?'

"Hey, aren't you going to help? This is your pub after all!" he barked at Daxter.

"Sheesh, Jak! I've already done my part!" Daxter replied.

"All you've done is put one glass away, and now you're just sitting down and drinking."

"I'm takin' a break."

"Alright, when it's time for my break, you can do some more work. OK?"

"Whatever!" said Daxter.

"Tell me some more of your adventures in the Wasteland, Daxter!" said Tess.

Jak knew what was coming next. Daxter was going to ramble on and on about something _he'd _done, and claim it all in his name just to impress his girlfriend. Sure, he'd put up with it in the past, but now he was getting a little bored with it all. He hoped for something to happen to get him out of the situation.

Suddenly, his backpack rumbled and his communicator burst out and hovered in front of his face.

"Jak. You there?" said Torn's voice.

"What is it, Torn?" Jak asked.

"I need to see you at Freedom HQ, about something important. Get here as soon as you can."

"I'll be right there," replied Jak, and the communicator whisked back inside his backpack. Daxter and Tess both sat there looking at him, and Jak looked back at them. Daxter knew what this meant, and he hoped Jak wasn't going to say what he thought he would.

"Get to work, Dax!" he ordered, and left the building.

"Noooo!" moaned Daxter, "I hate clearing up other peoples' mess! Especially when it's in _my_ pub!"

"Don't worry, Daxter, I'll help," said Tess, and the two of them set about it.

When Jak arrived at Freedom HQ, he went straight into Torn's office. There, Torn explained the situation and what was happening at the Power Station, and what he'd established and what he'd already found out from his investigations.

"We need your knowledge of the old world, Jak," he explained, "We need to know who or what might be present outside the city. Can you help? Just tell us everything about the old world that might be useful."

"It might be possible that some people survived and continued living further from the city's location," said Jak, "There were settlements covering the land for miles, a much greater distance than the area of Haven. The old house in Dead Town was where Samos lived in the past, and his hut was the southern-most point of the mainland. The village of Sandover was right next to it and that was where we lived. It was a beautiful village, with scenic beaches and lush jungles, and many great and good residents.

"Beyond Sandover and further to the north was Rock Village, the home of the Blue Sage. The villagers there lived inside an enormous rock supported above the water by stone pillars, and underneath that was a hall and a place to obtain refreshments and a meal.

"Beyond that was a pass that led into the mountains and inside the crater of an ancient volcano. It was here where the Red Sage had his hut, harnessing the power of the lava to run his machines. There were many caves inside the mountain, many of which were never explored, and there were few people living there, except for the Red Sage.

"There was a tunnel that ran from the bottom of the volcano further north to where the Yellow Sage lived. He was the only resident there save for the Dark Sage Gol, and his sister Maia. They lived within a mighty citadel, older than anything else in the world. It was the largest and most intricately designed structure on the planet that we knew of, and there was nothing beyond that except an endless forest. No one ever explored any further than that, and as far as we all knew, there wasn't anyone else living on the mainland except for the settlements I mentioned. But since we never explored past the citadel, we were never able to verify that."

"But the signal we picked up came from more than twelve kilometers away, far beyond the edges of the known vicinity around the city," said Torn, "Is it possible that some of the residents from the old world moved on and established a new home further north?"

"I can't tell you that," said Jak, "We found a room full of Precursor artifacts atop the citadel, one of them being a rift. When we opened it, Metal Heads swarmed out and darkened the sky in their numbers. After passing through the rift, we arrived here, far in the future. This city was once the place where we all lived, Torn.

"The time between when we passed through the rift and arrived in Haven is all a blank to me. I have no idea how our small village became this huge metropolis. That's something _you_ must help _me_ with, Torn."

"The way that I and everyone else have heard it, is that the Metal Heads arrived out of nowhere," said Torn, "I now know that they came from this rift you mentioned."

"And, that Precursor in Mar's tomb said that they'd fought with them since the beginning of time. That's probably why they attacked the planet after coming through the rift because there were so many Precursor items around."

"Very probably," said Torn, "Anyway, that's when the Metal Head War really began. The inhabitants of the planet fought back to defend themselves, and the Metal Heads spread across the globe. It is said they wiped out all civilizations except for our one here. That was when Mar arrived and somehow repelled the Metal Heads long enough to construct Haven City and the shield wall to defend all the remaining survivors. We were the only city left, and beyond the walls lay the Wasteland, containing nothing except Metal Head armies."

"But you weren't the only ones," said Jak, "Spargus was built by those who were banished to the Wasteland."

"I know," said Torn, "But Spargus had not been around since before Haven was built, which still makes us the sole survivors of the war."

"It sounds as if the war was full of chaos and confusion," said Jak, "And who was actually there to record what happened? It may be possible that in all the fighting, some survivors did manage to escape and construct a new settlement elsewhere, and now that the Metal Heads have been focusing their attacks on Haven for so long, it could have given them time to prosper and advance a little further.

"Before the Metal Heads came, our technology was primitive. We didn't have guns or vehicles as advanced as we do today. Look at it now. Maybe this other mystery settlement has seen an advance in their technology as well. They might have developed their own vehicles, and only just started using them to explore further afield. That might have been what you heard on the recording.

"But I'm afraid I can't tell you who these people might be or where they come from. This is further away than I have ever travelled before."

"Well, your information has been useful so far," said Torn, "Thanks for what you've told me."

"Any time," replied Jak, "What's going to happen now then?"

"I'm going to round up a team of guards, and have them fly out to the location where the sound came from tomorrow," he said, "I might join them and investigate first-hand. I'd be honored if you came with us as well."

"Sure," said Jak. He'd been waiting for a little more excitement now there was no one left to fight and no more evil maniacs to destroy. Plus, he was still interested to learn more about how his cheerful and friendly village had become the industrial metropolis that was Haven City. This just might be the missing link for him. An undiscovered tribe of people that had remained hidden for an unknown amount of time, far away from everything else in the distant realms of the continent. The entire concept of this adventure was overwhelming. This was a big discovery for the people of Haven City, who for years believed that they had been the only civilization left on the whole known planet. It couldn't be ignored.

"I'll get everyone together in the morning," said Torn, "I'll also have to inform Ashelin. She'll need to know about this."

"OK, I'll see you there then," said Jak.

"Get some sleep," said Torn, "We'll all need to be as alert as we can possibly be for whatever we may encounter."

"I will, thanks Torn," said Jak, before leaving the office and returning back to his vehicle.

As he rode the lift down to ground level, he thought about what tomorrow could bring. What would they find? Would they discover the lost remnants of a crumbling village of nomads? Or a great and powerful nation, equal in size and technology with Haven itself? Or would they find nothing at all? There was only one way to find out.

As Jak left the building, he stood outside and sighed. Why was it that whenever he parked a vehicle somewhere, it had always been moved by the time he'd returned? This excursion to the mystery sound location would certainly be a welcome break from this inconvenience. He walked around until he found another, and drove it back through the bright streets of Haven, all the way back to the port. Once there, he'd have to break the news to Daxter and explain the situation. He also wondered how much cleaning Daxter and Tess had managed to get done during his time at Freedom headquarters.

When he returned, he parked his vehicle outside the door, but before he opened it, he could hear strange yelping noises coming from the inside. He'd never heard that before. Yet another strange noise to investigate, he thought, but this time closer to home. He entered the building, and it was still a mess of papers, overturned chairs and military equipment. Daxter and Tess couldn't be seen, but the strange noises continued.

Jak's hearing told him that they were coming from the back of the room. He walked quietly and carefully over to the bar table, being sure not to tread on anything that might give away his position. The noises got louder, and then as Jak arrived at the bar table, he could clearly hear Daxter's voice mingled in among them, making all sorts of incomprehensible murmurings.

"Daxter!" he shouted, and very quickly slammed his hands down on the table and thrust his head over the top to see down the other side. What he saw was Daxter, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, staring straight up at him with a look of mixed emotions on his face. His trousers were off and were lying in a crumpled pile next to him on the floor, and Daxter himself was lying on top of Tess, who was also absent of clothing and lying on her back, clinging tightly to the fur on Daxter's shoulder, which was damp with sweat and ruffled up pretty badly.

For several seconds, nobody in the room knew what to say or do, until Jak shook his head slowly, chuckled to himself and said, "I should never have left you two alone, should I?"

Together, slowly and silently, the two panting mounds of sticky orange fur shook their heads in response to Jak's remark, unsure of what to do or say next. Daxter's lip trembled in an attempt to speak, but the words didn't come out.

"Go to sleep," said Jak, "Forget the cleaning. We've got a bigger task to do tomorrow, and you'll need your energy for it."

He walked away into the next room and prepared himself for the night, leaving the two breathless Ottsels behind to recuperate and sort things out for themselves.


	5. Company

Jak awoke suddenly the next morning. When his eyes opened, he immediately shut them again to block out the bright morning sunlight. As he lay on his make-shift bed underneath his roofed shelter, he listened to the sounds around him. He could hear the wind blowing gently across the sea, creating waves that quietly washed up on the shore, and rustling the other plants and leaves and bushes around him.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he opened them again and squinted at the sand. There were more crabs scuttling around heading for the water, and it all seemed normal. But he hadn't suddenly awoken for no reason; something had woken him and it wasn't the sunlight. He'd been awoken by an instinctive feeling that told him something was about to happen. That was something he'd picked up and developed over the many adventures he'd been through. He looked around him to find the source.

He found it. Several metres away on the beach to his left was a grey mass. He crawled out from under his shelter and went to investigate. When he came to it, he discovered it was a seat, one of the grey seats that had once been riveted to the floor panel of a Hellcat Cruiser. He could see that there were tears in it where the foam padding had spilt out into the water, but what struck him most was that there were footprints leading away from it. He examined them closely; they'd been made by bare feet and the toes were close together after spending years encased within shoes.

His eyes followed them up the beach, and they left a trail for him to follow. They went the full length of the beach and into the distance, around the corner and behind the trees where the beach ended further along. Someone was here! He needed to find out who it was. He ran as fast as he could across the sand, following the footprints and keeping an eye out ahead of him.

It was most definitely someone friendly, as they'd arrived on the island with a piece of Hellcat wreckage. Another had survived the battle, and Jak needed to know who it was. He felt a great race of adrenaline inside him, and a great sense of excitement. Maybe at last he could have someone to talk to on the island, someone to keep him company and help him survive, and someone to tell him what had happened during the remainder of the battle.

As he reached the corner of the beach, the footprints curved around to follow the sand. The person who'd come with this wreckage might be just around the corner. He passed the end of the trees and looked right down the length of the continuing beach. The footprints continued, but there was no one there. Jak stood for a while to catch his breath. His emotions and his imagination were still running at full throttle, because somewhere on this island was another person. He had to find them.

He returned to his shelter, and put his footwear on, picked up some provisions and his spear and his knife and set off searching the perimeter of the island, slowly working his way further inland. He searched everywhere intently, looking for any sign that someone had been there before him, a trail that he could follow.

He found more footprints leading into the forest, and followed them through the trees. He did the best he could to keep track of where he was. He was trekking through a part of the island he had yet to explore. There were new plants growing here that were a deep shade of green and had very small sticky leaves. They grew at about waist-height with Jak, and emitted a funny smell that made him feel a little delirious, but he kept his head in focus and continued to track the footprints.

Soon, the footprints came to the lake where he got his water from, and they seemingly ended right there. Jak looked around, but he couldn't see anything or anyone who might have made those tracks. The trail had run cold, and Jak had nowhere else to go, and no clues left to follow. He ran to the top of the look-out hill and scanned the tops of all the trees in every direction. Whoever it was who was here, they were either very aimlessly lost or trying to avoid him.

Jak took a drink of water from a leaf, and sighed heavily to himself. He had to find this person. He went back down the hill to the lake and began to refill his leaf with fresh water. But as he was doing this, the bushes behind him rustled and a twig snapped. Jak swung around to see the source of commotion, his spear at the ready. Was this the elusive person he'd been searching for? And were they stalking him? He stood up slightly; ready to defend himself if he needed to.

The bushes shook again, but then a figure came stumbling out in front of him. It was a skinny pale man with a ripped blue shirt, a red sash around his neck, and many very familiar tattoos covering his face.

The two stared at each other, and then Jak said, "Torn! You're alive!"

"Jak?" said Torn in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"My cruiser went down and I got washed up here," he explained.

"Same happened to me," said Torn, "Where are we?"

"I don't exactly know," said Jak, "I've been exploring around this island, and as far as I can see it's uninhabited."

"So what have you been doing all this time?"

"Just surviving as best as I can. Come on, let's go back to my shelter and we can talk about the battle. I want to know what happened to you."

Together, the two friends worked their way back through the forest to Jak's side of the island. Jak explained to Torn as they went how he'd managed to live on the island over the past twenty four hours. They passed the hill and then through the part of the forest that Jak knew a little better. He showed Torn where he'd been getting some of his food from, and told him what was good to eat and what wasn't.

"That lake back there where we found each other is where I get fresh water," said Jak, "It's the most important thing here. I always make sure I've got plenty."

They walked through the trees and Torn seemed just as intrigued by them as Jak had been when he first saw them. "I've never seen trees like this before," he said, "What are they?"

"I don't know," said Jak, "But their base leaves make good blankets to sleep under. I want to climb one and see what's in that top part. Could be something useful."

"Could be something dangerous," said Torn, "We don't know about these trees, they could be poisonous or something."

"Well, we don't know until we try it, do we?" said Jak.

"Are there any other kinds of danger you've encountered on this island?" asked Torn.

"No, actually," said Jak, "This island seems to be pretty safe from what I've explored so far. But keep an eye out though, I haven't explored everywhere yet. It's something we could do later."

Torn noticed the big leaf wrapped around Jak's foot. "Useful," he said.

Jak turned and realised what Torn was talking about. "Yeah, these leaves are pretty resilient. They make great shoes, and it looks like you could use some."

Jak collected some more of the leaves from nearby and took them with him.

Very soon they were back at Jak's small shelter under the big odd trees by the sand.

"You've done well to build yourself that," said Torn.

"It's not finished yet," said Jak, "I was planning on expanding it so I've got more room to lie down properly. You'll need a shelter too. That's something we'll have to work on today before the sun sets."

"But first, let's sit down and get these leaves turned into shoes for me," said Torn.

"And tell me what happened to you after my cruiser crashed," said Jak, "As far as I can remember, you were on fire, and Ashelin and I were trying to protect you."

"Hmm. Do you think Ashelin made it?" he asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me that," said Jak.

"And what about Daxter? Where's he?"

Jak suddenly remembered the loss of his greatest companion and felt a deep sadness within him. "When I came to after the crash, I was alone. I fear Daxter may now be dead and lying at the bottom of the sea."

"Can't he swim?" asked Torn.

"He never learnt how to," said Jak, "He always got me to do any swimming that needed to be done back when he was human, and he always stayed clinging to my shoulder after his encounter with the dark eco. I don't think he would have made it."

"It's a pity," said Torn, sitting down on the sand, "I always found him extremely annoying and impossible to handle. But now that he's gone, I actually sort of miss him. It's not going to be the same without him."

"No, it won't be," said Jak. His shoulder felt very empty now that it wasn't always occupied by a little ball of orange fuzz that kept barking and moaning constantly in his ear. He told Torn exactly how he felt.

"I've known him for as long as I can remember. He was always there following me around on our adventures, and I was the only one in Sandover who appreciated his company. Everyone else couldn't stand being with him for too long. I've come to know him like a brother; we did everything together. We lived in a beautiful little house right next to the village dock.

"But now that he's gone, it feels like everything that happened in the past was just a dream, and now I've woken up into the truth of reality. I feel as if a part of me has died too. And I feel guilty about it because I was unable to save him." Jak closed his eyes, remembering as much as he could from their last bleak moments together. A tear seeped out from under his eyelid and trickled down his cheek.

"Try not to think about it, Jak," said Torn, "I know you've lost someone close to you, but you've still got to continue without him. We've got to work together if we're going to survive on this island."

"You're right," said Jak, regaining his concentration, "Let's work on these shoes. But tell me what happened to you in the battle."

As the two friends sat on the sand, lacing and cutting the leaves, Torn spoke of his last moments in the battle and how he ended up on the island with Jak.

"I was indeed on fire, like you said, and I was trying to put it out and regain control of the cruiser. You and Ashelin were defending me from the enemy jets, and you were doing a great job. But then I heard Ashelin shouting over the radio as you went down. I caught a glimpse of you through the window, accelerating downwards and heading for the sea. But then more jets turned on us, and Ashelin had to defend me by herself whilst I battled with the fire in the cabin.

"I think I managed to get the fire under a little control, but then the extinguisher ran out of breath and stopped working, and I hadn't packed a reserve. The control board was bombarding me with warnings and alerts, but there was nothing else I could do.

"More jets came and Ashelin tried to intercept them, but she took some hits in the process and she caught fire as well. I could do nothing but watch as they surrounded her and knocked her right out of the sky. Her cruiser split in two and both pieces went down into the water. Then they turned on me. I couldn't defend myself, because the gun controls didn't respond and the turret was burning. I was a sitting target. I tried to call over some more cruisers to come to my defence, but they didn't hear. My radio must have cut out, and my cruiser was so badly damaged. I took several rounds of hits before succumbing to the onslaught and spiralling down towards the water.

"I tried to pull myself back up, but I knew it was no use. I hit the water and blacked out, and when I regained consciousness I was floating on the waves in the dark, still strapped into my seat. I drifted for a day, searching for you or Ashelin or anyone else who might have survived a crash. But I found no one. There was nothing I could do, so I just sat and slept in my seat, drifting with the tide.

"Then in the early morning, I saw an island, and used all of my remaining strength to head towards it, and I arrived on the beach there. I left the seat where it was and had a look around to see what I could find, or if there was anyone there to help me. I couldn't find anyone, until I met you, and the rest of the story you know from here."

By now, they'd finished making Torn's shoes and Jak had a greater knowledge of what had happened after he'd left the battle.

"So Ashelin went down too?" asked Jak.

"Yeah, but I doubt she could have survived an attack like that. Even if she did, I don't think she could have survived the fall."

"So that's two friends lost," said Jak.

"I know, but we can't dwell on our unfortunate pasts, we've got to survive and hope someone will find us, or make our own way off this island. If our attack was a failure and nobody survived, then they're bound to come looking for us."

"Or they could be too busy defending themselves from other attacks," said Jak, "The enemies could have gained confidence after taking down our squadron, and launched an attack on Haven. What if we're losing the fight?"

"Well, what can we do about it? We're stuck here until we find a way out of here."

Torn put his shoes on and they fitted quite well. It was their first successful act of teamwork together, and now they had to gather some more supplies and improve their shelter. They began by dragging Torn's seat up from the beach and into the shelter. They cut little pieces off and filled them up with sand where some of the foam padding had been lost, and made small pillows out of them. Now they could sleep a little more comfortably with something to rest their heads on. They also used other parts of the seats as beds to lie on.

Next, they went and collected some more resources. They cut some branches from some of the more normal looking trees. The odd ones with the spheres on top were visibly too thick and possessed too few branches to be of any use. They also picked up a little more food and water, as they'd need more now that it had to sustain both of them.

Out of the branches, they carved a spear for Torn and some more extensions of Jak's shelter. They collected some more of the large red leaves and used them to create a larger roof, lacing them all together with strips of bark, and supporting them with branches that had been thrust into the ground and secured with sand and rocks. There was now room under it for them both to sleep at night.

After that, they explored the island a little more. They looked around to check for extra resources, more food or other hidden lakes. They also checked for dangers that might lurk on the island, any unknown creatures that might be hiding or living on some unexplored part of the island. But as far as they could see, there was nothing to be wary of. It was all pretty safe.

They did find a new type of bush that grew round fruits that were yellow and had tough outer shells. Jak and Torn gathered a few of them and took them back with them to their shelter.

It was then that they discovered how difficult they were to get into. They couldn't be simply cracked open, but Jak found a seam running in a circle around the widest part of the shell. They carefully cut across it with their knives and the shell split open into two halves, each containing a thick orange jam-like substance. They tried it and it tasted very nice indeed. It had a very unique taste and wasn't like anything either of them had had before. It was nothing like the huge plants that were once cultivated in Haven, and it tasted sweeter than they did. It was a good find, and they'd collected enough to last a couple of days.

"We've got to be careful how we use these," said Torn, "We don't want to eat too many and then find that there aren't any left."

"Keep the shells, we could use them for something," said Jak, and they put them to one side.

For the rest of the afternoon, they worked together to increase their quality of life on the island. They hunted some more crabs when they came scuttling across the beach, made a few more tools and gathered a few more supplies.

As night drew near, the two of them sat down together and discussed what the future might hold for them.

"Do you think we'll ever get rescued?" asked Torn.

"I hope so," replied Jak, "I'd hate to be stuck here for the rest of my life. It's too quiet here, and I've got a feeling that fate won't just let us live here without any sort of disturbance."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think this island is all it appears to be. I think there might be some sort of ancient hidden danger here. At night, I can hear movement coming from many places at once. They're like vibrations in the sand and the plants around us. I can feel them."

"I'm sure it's nothing serious," said Torn, "What we should really be doing is finding a way off this island. I think tomorrow we should set up some kind of look-out post and find a way to contact our friends."

"But how are we going to do that?" asked Jak, "We have no equipment and we could be miles away from them by now. We have no idea where we are!"

"That's true. But we have to try. You know me by now, Jak, and I'm not someone to give up easily."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I suggest we try and find a way to make fire, and then construct a signal beacon to draw the attention of anyone passing by."

"But the chances of us being noticed are very remote, Torn. There are miles of ocean out there, and we might never be found. Even if we are, it might be too late, or our enemies might find us. Then what?"

"I don't know!" snapped Torn, "Stop being so pessimistic. We still have a chance. But right now we need our rest. We should go to sleep and decide on our plans in the morning."

"Alright," said Jak.

The two of them readied themselves for the night. They got underneath the roof of the shelter and lay about three feet apart underneath their make-shift blankets of leaves, and with their pillows made from the remnants of Torn's seat.

This was Torn's first night on the island, and he found sleeping in this way to be uncomfortable compared to how he was used to sleeping in Haven. He didn't complain though, he knew he'd have to spend the next few days like this, or even weeks. He knew that there had to be a way off the island.

For Jak, this added a little more comfort, as he'd spent a night on the island before and had had to sleep without a pillow. He felt a little better about his situation, and he'd be ready for tomorrow when it was time to search for possible ways to get off the island.

As sleep took them, their thoughts once again returned to Haven City and all the people they knew and lived with. Would they ever see them again? Only time would tell.


	6. Conclave

A dozen of the finest Freedom Fighters were standing to attention in the hangar of the Freedom HQ. Behind each of them was a waiting Hellcat Cruiser, engine running and ready to be piloted. The Freedom Fighters were part of a specially trained scout force, well prepared for secretive exploration and clandestine research. They knew what was to be done, but they were given orders to await a briefing from commander Torn. The only sound in the hangar was the constant metallic hum of the engines of the Hellcats behind them. Very soon, they would be flying them out of the city and into the unknown, unexplored landscape that surrounded them.

Then the doors at the end of the room slid open with a hiss, and Torn walked into the room followed by the hero Jak, who would also be taking part in this mission. Daxter was on his shoulder being unusually quiet.

Torn approached the waiting troops and walked up and down the line, explaining the situation.

"You are some of the finest scouts in the Freedom League," he began, "That is why I have chosen you for this assignment. This is the most important mission to ever be undertaken in the history of Haven City, it's something that could change the way we look at ourselves and the world around us. It's something that could re-write the history books in all the libraries of the city. You men shall be the ones responsible for making that happen.

"We are to embark on a journey to beyond the city limits and beyond the visible landscape. We will surpass the barren expanses of the Wasteland and into territory that few people have visited since the Metal Head war began. We are going to search for any signs of activity that may be present in the outer reaches of this land, and it is uncertain of what we may find.

"But do not worry. You men should be proud of what we are about to do. We are searching for signs of another civilization, which may exist far beyond our reaches and has remained hidden from us for an untold amount of time. We do not know how advanced they may be, if they are hostile or friendly, or if they are able to communicate with us. This mission will bring a day of great discovery to the city, and increase our knowledge and awareness of our history and our world.

"Now board your cruisers, and follow me to discovery! Make me proud to be your commander!"

The Freedom scouts cheered and quickly saluted before climbing into their cruisers and awaiting the order to take off.

Torn had emphasised the positive consequences of the mission, which had riled up his men and got them into an explorative mood.

"Jak, you're with me on this one," he said, and the two of them boarded Torn's cruiser and began to lift off the ground. As they rose higher into the air and towards the opening hatch in the ceiling, the scouts below them began to do the same, one by one.

Higher and higher they went into the cool morning air, until they all zoomed off to the north-west and towards the mountains. Torn looked out of his window quickly to check if all of his men were getting into formation behind him. The scouts formed two lines of six behind him and stayed like it, keeping straight and perfectly aligned. Daxter looked out of his window as well and down on the city streets below him, people were cheering them on. It wasn't uncommon; they always did that whenever they saw a Hellcat overhead. It was highly unlikely that they knew exactly what their mission was, as it had been kept confidential and was only divulged between city officials behind closed doors.

"Ashelin, we're clear!" said Torn into his radio.

"Roger that, co-ordinates are heading your way now," replied Ashelin, and then a few seconds later, the squadron received a set of digits on their screens, which were automatically implemented into their navigational systems and fixed onto the destination. That was where they were heading.

"Keep in formation," said Torn to the rest of his squadron as they flew over the buildings below.

"Good luck guys," said Ashelin.

"Thanks," said Jak, "See you later."

Torn led his scouts out over the city walls and towards the mountain range in the distance. "We'll have to fly through the mountains," said Torn, "Keep in control and watch where you're flying."

As they approached the snow-covered peaks, a light cloud settled in and wrapped itself around and in between the large and dominating rock formations. Torn switched on the headlights and his team stayed close. They decreased their speed as they carefully manoeuvred through the gaps in the mountain range.

Jak kept a look out, and Daxter too was paying attention to the situation. Even though there were a dozen other things he'd rather be doing right now, Jak had made him come with him on this mission, so he thought he might as well make the best of it. He maintained a constant vigil out the window for any mountains that could pose a problem to get around, or a gap that may lead to the other side of the range.

It didn't take long. Pretty soon, Torn and his men were safely through the mountain range and could continue their expedition to the north-west.

Back in formation again, they set off towards the point the co-ordinates represented, wondering what they would find there. Jak was feeling nervous, because this could reveal a whole new set of information about his world. He'd always been puzzled as to how his tranquil little village had become a huge bustling cityscape. A whole period of his history was missing to him, and he wanted to find it. Daxter was less interested than Jak was, but he understood the sheer importance of the circumstances and went along with it.

Torn was feeling slightly excited. This expedition, if successful, would be a great day for Haven City, and he'd orchestrated it. Plus, maybe there'd be a new civilization to trade and communicate with. They could become allies and work together to fight against the remaining Metal Heads, removing them from the planet for good and ensuring they never came back. They could spread out and expand and repopulate the rest of the world.

But on the other hand, they could be hostile and aggressive, and not even care about other cultures. What if they were more powerful than the Metal Heads? They wouldn't stand a chance if the need came to another war, especially in the state the city was currently in.

Or they might find nothing at all.

There was only one way to find out, and that was to carry on and investigate.

The land beyond the mountains was bare and remote. There were hills covering the landscape and very few flat areas. The vegetation was sparse and dry, and there were very few trees around. The grass was wilted and clearly had not seen nutrition for some time. There was no life in the soil, and large rocks were scattered randomly in the dying lands.

This place was not like anything that they had been seen before. The Metal Heads hadn't been here, because their lands didn't look like this. They'd capture a location and turn it into a dank swamp of poisonous acid and dark eco. Having done this to the gardens of Haven City, they knew first-hand how a Metal Head area would look, and this was nothing like that. Things just wouldn't grow here, and living here would prove nearly impossible.

They flew on. They still had a long way to go, just less than twelve kilometres. The sight of the land did not improve either. It retained its dead and barren look for another two kilometres without showing any change in appearance. That was until they reached the coast.

Ahead of them was a vast ocean that stretched for miles and miles. The land ended with a coastline of rocks, all piled up at the shoreline to make a natural sea wall, preventing any water from touching the dry and parched soil. The sea was as grey and dark as the rocks themselves, and no waves crashed against them. It was a bleak landscape, and it was frightening to look at, and was definitely no place to be in alone.

"This place gives me the creeps!" said Daxter, speaking for the first time throughout the mission.

Nobody said anything, but they all silently agreed.

But then Jak noticed something. Southwards there was a spot of green, and they could make it out as a small forest of trees sticking out into the water. Though they couldn't tell it from where they were, it was actually a peninsula, and it contained the only lush vegetation they'd seen since the journey began. Why trees grew there and nowhere else was a mystery to all but the Precursors, but there was no time to investigate it. They were on a fixed course and couldn't get distracted. Finding traces of a new civilization was more important than observing trees. Samos the Sage probably would have argued otherwise, but he wasn't involved with the mission, and the team carried on flying out over the water.

For the remainder of the journey, the squadron flew over deep and dark water, keeping in formation and flying in a straight line, heading further out from land and towards their mysterious destination. There was no life to be seen in the ocean, the water was so grey and murky that nothing substantial could possibly survive in there. As they continued, the ocean did get a little bluer, and began to show the same quality of the water in the port back in Haven City.

Nobody spoke while they were flying over the water. They kept silent in awe and anticipation, waiting for any signs of life or for anything out of the ordinary.

Torn checked his flight controls and they told him that there were five kilometres left of travelling before they reached their destination.

"So, what do you think we'll find there?" he asked to Jak.

"It would be really interesting if there was another hidden civilization out here," he replied, "But in truth, I don't think anyone knows what to expect."

"You're probably right. The only way we can know for sure is to actually get there and find out." Torn then used his radio to submit another order to his team following him. "Squad, we're speeding up. Keep in line and stay close. You don't want to get lost out here." He increased the velocity of his cruiser, and everyone behind him did the same.

They zoomed through the air at double speed, with Torn eager to get there quicker and get this whole thing sorted out.

The final part of the journey was carried out in complete silence once again. They approached their target and the flight controls counted down the figures that represented the remaining distance. Closer and closer they came, until Torn became so excited, he kept eagerly looking out the window for signs of activity and neglecting to drive the cruiser properly.

Jak had to step in. "Look Torn, you just concentrate on driving, and leave the observation to Daxter and me."

Torn did so and got back to driving. The cruisers behind him kept a small distance between themselves and Torn's cruiser, making sure that they kept a close guard on their leader and to stay in formation.

Then, the control panels of every cruiser sounded a tone that meant they had arrived at their destination. The vehicles automatically slowed to a halt in perfect synchronisation, until they all hovered in their formation over the point on the earth where the co-ordinates had led them.

Everyone eagerly looked out of their windows to see where they were and what was around them.

But they were puzzled and confused by what they saw. They were right in the middle of the ocean, surrounded on all sides by endless deep blue water, and no land in sight at all. There was nothing to be seen but water and sky.

Torn didn't know what to think. He knew he'd find something here! But there was nothing.

But then, one of the scouts shouted out. "Look down there!" He was pointing down to the water directly beneath them. There was something down there, just under the surface of the water, shining with a weird green light. Torn ordered his men to descend to surface level with the water, and as one, they all went down until they hovered just a few inches above the waves.

They all looked at the glowing object with curiosity, wondering what it possibly was or what it was for.

"What is it?" asked Daxter. Nobody knew. But then it started moving. It floated upwards to the surface of the water, and everyone's curiosity was shattered when it was revealed to be a jellyfish, round and shiny and wet like a big beach ball that was lost at sea. Then it deflated itself and sank down beneath the waves once again, disappearing for good.

"That's it?" said Torn, feeling depressed, "We came all this way and all we found was a jellyfish?"

"Looks like it," said Jak, also feeling emotions of deep despondency.

Nobody could believe it. Here was a huge chance of discovery and glory right before them, but now it had slipped out of their hands and sunk into the sea like the world's most valuable bar of soap, never to be seen again. A mission with such promise had come to an anticlimactic ending.

"Alright," said Torn, "There's nothing more for us to do here. Let's go, men."

Everyone got back into their seats and prepared themselves to return home. As their vehicles rose, their emotions sank. What a blow to find nothing worthy of interest from the biggest mission in the city's history!

However, something was going to happen. The scout team had arrived right at the exact time purely out of luck to witness exactly what they'd been searching for.

In the sky above them and about fifty feet ahead of them, there was a flash of yellow light and the sound of harsh wind, and a troop of grey vehicles appeared where there had previously been empty air. They hovered completely still and the brave scouts of Haven froze in their ascent. Torn recognised that sound; it was exactly what he'd heard on the recording.

"What the hell are they?" shouted Daxter, unsure of what emotions were currently wracking his mind.

The three grey, silent vehicles rotated in mid-air until they were looking squarely at the Hellcats. They had long pointed noses and slanted cockpits with blacked-out windows. They had two sets of wings running down the sides of them, one behind the other, and four cylindrical jet engines that shone with a yellow glow. Each had a huge fin on the back that pointed upwards, and from the front they looked like huge floating metallic sharks.

Then the window of the centre vehicle slowly disappeared, revealing the driver. He was wearing a dark shaded helmet that covered the complete upper part of his head, including his eyes, and it had a mouthpiece hanging from it which was suspended in front of his mouth. He stood up, revealing that he was wearing a black uniform with shoulder pads that bore some sort of emblem, and in one hand he held a remote device. He pressed a button on it which made a small round speaker emerge from the nose of his vehicle. He spoke into his mouthpiece and his deep, sinister voice sounded from it.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing out here?"

Torn gave the response. He spoke into his radio which carried his voice to his own external speakers. "My name is Torn. We are scouts of the Freedom League, exploring the world in search of discovery for the residents of Haven City."

"Haven City?" said the mysterious pilot, "I have not heard that name before. Why is that?"

Torn did his best to keep his cool and respond sensibly. "Our city has been involved in a long war, cutting us off from any contact with the world. We knew of no other cultures outside our city that still remained after the long and violent destruction of life, brought on by the hand of our enemies. Now they are defeated, we are searching for any possible survivors after picking up a mysterious signal on our scanners."

"I know of what you speak," the pilot answered, "You refer to the Hora-quan, a dark and evil race that knows no bounds to conquering worlds. We too suffered from their malicious war.

"My name is Rulo, and I am the captain of the Grey Wing, air force of the city of Idandi. We are here to further expand the borders of our empire."

"Wait a minute," Daxter butted in rudely, "Just where did you guys come from anyway?"

Torn further explained to counter Daxter's unwise outburst. "What he means is that during the war, we believed that all other settlements had been destroyed and laid to waste, and that we were the only survivors. Not long ago we picked up a trace on our radars that pointed to activity in this location, so we came to investigate."

"Well, you were wrong about being the only remaining settlement. Our home too was attacked by an unstoppable force of dark creatures. Though our technology was superior to theirs, they were too numerous for us. We fled with our survivors, and hid for many years under the mountain at the centre of our city, where they would never find us. We've gathered strength in secret and continually watched and observed them, until they finally moved away and we could return to living on the surface. They'd desecrated our land, and we've had to rebuild our nation all over again. But now, since the dark creatures have failed to return and keep a watch over their conquered lands, we simply took it back and started anew."

Torn, Jak, Daxter and all the Freedom Guards knew that this was because of the intensive attacks the Metal Heads had launched on Haven City. They'd been so focussed on eliminating this last remaining area of population, that they'd taken all the forces they had left from all over the world to that spot, determined to finish it once and for all.

Torn's dream had been realised, and he had found another race of survivors after all these years. This was a great day for Haven City. But he had to return there first. The least he could do was invite his new found friends to join him.

"This discovery is a momentous occasion in the history of our city," said Torn, "I would be honoured for you to join us on our return journey and reveal yourself to our citizens. We could start a diplomatic relationship and work together to repopulate and rebuild the world."

"What you propose sounds like a sensible suggestion," replied Rulo, "I shall come to your city and see your culture, and then we can discuss our futures."

Everyone inside the Hellcats was very excited. They knew that this meant a new turn for the future of Haven City. And from the looks of it, it was going to be a prosperous and exciting one.

"First of all though," said Rulo, "I will need to return to my city of Idandi to relay the news to my superiors. They will be most interested to hear about this."

"Of course," said Torn, "I too must return this sensational discovery to my city. Then, once all is said and done, maybe we can finally meet again."

"Sounds like a good plan," replied Rulo, "It will not take us long to travel. We have integrated a teleportation system into our vehicles which allows us to move swiftly between two locations as long as we have the correct co-ordinates. We can arrive back at our city within a second. It's what we use to explore the world."

Torn was amazed at how advanced these people were. "That is truly a great invention," he mused, "But it seems that you must need the co-ordinates in order to travel. My suggestion is that I transmit the co-ordinates of our city to you, and when you have made the commitment with your leaders, you can easily come and visit us when you're ready."

"That is a good decision," said Rulo, "I shall hope to see you then."

"I'm sending the co-ordinates now," said Torn, and after pressing a few buttons on his control panel, the information was beamed between the two vehicles. Rulo now had all the information he needed to travel between the two cities.

The two exchanged their final instructions and preparations, and then in a flash, the three silver jets hovering in front of the Hellcats were gone.

"I think that went quite well," Torn said to Jak.

"But are you sure you know what you're doing?" he countered, "Just handing out the co-ordinates of our city like that? How can we trust them? They seem suspicious to me."

"Of course, stop worrying. We'll be back at Haven before they've finished their discussion, if we make good time.

"Squad! We're returning to Haven as fast as possible. Keep in formation and follow me. We're going home to spread the news!" Cheers rang out above the ocean as the Freedom League celebrated the great news. They'd done it! They'd really done it! Their journey hadn't been fruitless after all! .


	7. From Two to Four

A few nights had passed since Jak had been washed ashore on his isolated island. Now that Torn had also found himself in the same situation, they'd begun to work together in order to survive. They'd managed to map out certain parts of the island and notify key locations, like the fruit bush atop the hill, and the lakes of fresh water. They'd also expanded their shelter a little, and there was more room now for both of them. They spent most of their time in the daylight collecting resources for themselves to ensure their survival, but their thoughts also turned regularly to plans of escape. They couldn't spend the rest of their days trapped here, completely isolated from civilization. Every day they wracked their minds for ideas and methods to make a successful getaway, but they were hampered down by fear and doubt and hopelessness. No matter what they did, there was always a chance that they might never see their friends again, and remain lost forever.

But Jak always knew there was hope. He'd been through many desperate situations in his life, and he'd always found a way out of even the darkest times, and prevailed over immeasurable odds. And the people of Haven must be looking for him. A hero of his calibre couldn't just be forgotten like that. They must have known something was wrong when they did not return from their bombing raid. Maybe a few did make it back safely, but both Jak and Torn doubted that. Their combined memories of what had happened in the battle before they'd crashed into the water showed that things were pretty bleak for them. But there had to be a rescue underway, there just had to be!

Torn was a man of strong principles, and was not the kind of person to give up easily. He clung on to the belief that they would indeed be rescued, or if the need came to it, they'd find a way off the island themselves. Together, he and Jak made a great moral team. Both had great strength of will and were determined to get themselves out of this mess.

Now, it was a bright and hot day, and both Jak and Torn were atop the island's centre hill. They were preparing a look-out post to watch over the surrounding sea for anything or anyone that might be looking for them. Their plan was to construct some sort of beacon that they could use to draw the attention of anyone who may be passing by. But one problem still remained: how would they do it?

They'd lost all of their technical equipment that had originally been in their cruisers, and they'd been reduced to using rocks and tree branches to satisfy their needs. It was a primitive digression compared to what they'd grown used to in Haven City. They had no way of easily creating fire or making any kind of easy living. Everything had to be done manually, and it was something they were not used to doing. Back in Haven, they could have fire in a second by the flick of a switch.

It was something they definitely needed to work out.

Failing that, Torn had the idea of sticking something shiny on top of their finished construct to reflect the sunlight and create a bright flash to lure people over. Over the days, more wreckage had washed up on their beaches, and every morning they scouted around the entire perimeter of the island, searching the beaches for anything new. Nothing they'd found seemed remotely useful to them; just scraps of metal from fallen aircraft. Some of it confirmed their worst fears about many of their closest comrades in the Freedom League. An unmistakable feature from Ashelin's cruiser had been found in the sand, and it brought their hopes right down. They'd now assumed that there was nothing more to hope for toward her survival. It was a dark time for them, but they had to continue. They could not succumb to grief and despair, they had to work together and get back home.

But Torn remembered a large shard of shiny material from one of the cruisers; it was from one of the window panes in the cockpit. That could work. But Jak pointed out that this kind of plan would only work in the daytime when it was light, and even then it would only reflect the sunlight in one direction, limiting how much it could be seen.

But right then, the very thing they had been thinking about happened. Something caught Jak's eye in the ocean, and he looked out to where it was. Something was floating in the water, reflecting the sunlight right back at their exact point atop the hill.

"What is that?" he said.

"What's what?" asked Torn.

"That, out in the water," said Jak.

Torn saw it now, but he didn't think much of it. "Probably just another piece of wreckage."

"Let's go check it out," said Jak.

"You can go," said Torn, "I'm going to stay here and work on this. Doubt it'll be anything special though."

"There's only one way to find out." Jak ran off down the hill and through the trees in the direction of the sighted object in the water. He thought to himself as he ran. Whatever it was, it was definitely shiny enough to reflect the sunlight and be used atop their beacon. They could build it to face different directions as well, so whenever something passed by, they could turn to face it and reflect the sun over there to get attention.

But when he broke free from the cover of the trees and arrived on the beach, what he saw shocked him. Now that he was level with the object in the water, and didn't have it reflecting light into his eyes any more, he could see what it really was.

"Torn! Get over here!" he shouted.

Across the island, Torn heard the noise and could recognise the urgency in Jak's voice. He dropped his tools and sprinted off in the direction Jak had run.

Upon arriving on the sand, he could see Jak waist deep in the water, wading out towards the object. He could see it from where he was now, and was shocked to see that two figures were slumped over the reflective material floating and drifting towards their island. He raced into the water after Jak to help him bring it ashore.

Out in the sea, it shocked him even further to see that one of the figures was one of his Freedom troops, and the second was none other than Ashelin. Both were asleep or unconscious, and looked to be very malnourished.

Both Jak and Torn were wordless, and just concentrated on getting their friends back ashore.

They returned, half soaked and tired with their two comrades and the enormous piece of metal. It was the entire rear end of a Hellcat, with all the paint washed off to reveal the metal underneath.

"And you thought it wouldn't be important!" said Jak.

"OK, I admit, I was wrong," said Torn, "Good eyes, Jak."

"Let's get them back to the shelter," he said, "Looks like they could use some food and some water."

They could tell that their friends were still alive, as they still breathed and made very slow unconscious movements. There was still hope for them.

They lifted them up, leaving the piece of metal behind for now. Saving their friends was more important than escaping. Torn carried Ashelin and Jak carried the Freedom Fighter, now recognised by Torn as Olto, one of his most helpful recruits, who'd served him well ever since his first day on the job. They were filled with a huge sense of euphoria at the discovery of two of their closest companions thought to be lost. This gave them renewed hope and a sense that they had a real chance of survival now they had their friends with them once again. But that's how the mind works. When something really special happens that puts you into a good mood, the world suddenly seems like a much better place. You see the good in everything and feel as if nothing can spoil the moment. In truth though, the world was still the same and wishful thinking wasn't helping Torn and Jak out of their situation any quicker, though it did make them feel a little better about it.

But maybe a bigger team could be helpful now. They could double their working efficiency and thinking power and make some real progress towards leaving the island.

Across the sand and around the island they went, finally arriving on their side of the beach at the shelter. They lay down their friends underneath the roof, out of the sun and on the leaf beds, and a few quick checks showed they were still alive, but they didn't know if they would hold on long enough to awaken. They'd clearly spent several days drifting on the waves without any sustenance. They did what they could to keep them healthy. They gave them some fresh water from their collection of leaf pouches and then let them rest.

"They're probably going to wonder where they are when they wake up," said Torn.

"We should keep an eye on them," said Jak.

"I'll stay here; you'd better go and fetch that piece of metal that they brought with them before we lose it to the tide. It could be just what we're looking for."

"Take care of them," Jak said before setting off once more.

Torn watched them until Jak returned with the wreckage and laid it onto their pile of collected metal close to their shelter. Torn then went to retrieve the tools from atop the hill while Jak sat and took his turn watching their friends¸ nervously awaiting them to regain consciousness.

The sunlight danced through the trees and created moving patterns of light all around him as they swayed in the gentle zephyr that blew over the sea and around the island. Jak was still half wet after pulling them from the water, but the warm sunlight had dried him off enough for him to be comfortable in his sodden state. It was the last thing that was on his mind right now however, as his friends had still not moved by the time Torn had returned with their tools. They both sat down now, quietly discussing their thoughts together, and how good it was to finally see their friends again after all this time worrying, even in the fragile state they were in now. They'd done what they could to help them, now all they could do was wait.

It wasn't until the sun was low in the sky before Ashelin finally stirred and opened her eyes.

"Jak! She's awake!" said Torn, and Jak came running over from the sand where he'd been spearing more crabs.

Ashelin felt dazed and confused, and as her vision corrected itself she could make out Torn sitting in front of her and the shape of Jak coming closer.

"Torn? Jak?" she said weakly. Her voice was rough and her throat was dry. Her vision was also imperfect as she attempted to focus on the figure before her. He didn't look like the Torn she remembered. His skin was darker after spending many hours unprotected in the sun. His clothes were ragged and had seen extensive damage by the sea, and his face was thinner and covered in dark stubble. His hair was now longer in thick dreadlocks, but hanging limply around his shoulders. Jak bore a similar appearance.

"Here, drink this," said Torn, handing over a water-filled half of a yellow fruit shell, "It's water."

Ashelin took it and drank, feeling somewhat revitalised as the liquid touched her parched lips and re-hydrated her brain. Her mind slowly returned to her and her voice became more usable.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Erm, we don't actually know," replied Torn.

"We've all been swept by the tide onto this island with little equipment and no way of getting out of here," said Jak.

Memories came flooding back to Ashelin as she recalled her last moments of the battle. She remembered defending Torn as he struggled with the blazing fire inside his cruiser, and Jak sacrificing himself against an incoming enemy fighter jet. She failed to recall much more after that.

She looked around at where she was now. She saw that she was in the middle of a temporary-looking but well-structured camp, littered with stone tools and leaves and bits of tangled and twisted metal. Hanging on a tree to her left was the Freedom League insignia, clearly ripped from the hull of one of her Hellcats and scavenged from the water by Torn and Jak.

Ahead of her was sand, which sloped away from her in a downward direction towards a great blue ocean that stretched out beyond the horizon.

She also noticed the shelter she was in, supported by six strong branches standing upright and buried in the sand around her. They held above her a roof of sticks and leaves that kept the sunlight off her and provided protection from exposure. It was high enough to allow her to sit up without hitting her head, which was still heavy with uncertainty, but with the knowledge that she was in safe hands, that quickly disappeared. The ground beneath her was covered in large red leaves, not exactly comfortable, but smooth and dry, and large and long enough to accommodate her full length and keep her off the sand.

Then she saw Olto lying next to her, who still had not woken from unconsciousness.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"He is resting, and like you, should hopefully make a recovery," said Torn, "We found both him and you floating off the shore, clinging to a large piece of Hellcat wreckage."

Another part of her memory was restored. She remembered back to when the two of them were adrift for days in the ocean with only what remained of his cruiser for buoyancy. They'd eaten and drunk nothing for a long time, and had passed out during the night.

"I'm hungry," she said.

Jak reached over and produced another round fruit, handing it over to her. She bit into it, and felt its juiciness in her mouth. It felt so good to taste again after so long.

Over the next few minutes, Ashelin was debriefed by Torn and Jak and was told all the information they possessed. She now became aware of the full story of their plight, and that they were stuck here for as long as could be seen in the near future.

But Ashelin brought with her new equipment. Her laser pistol had survived the impact with the water and remained on her person, and still worked. They now had an easy way to make fire, simply by firing it at a pile of sticks. She also had with her a small package of first aid equipment, and Olto's lunchbox. Though the food within was all gone, it could now prove useful as an extra more durable container to be put to use carrying tools or other supplies.

Now stronger than she was before, Ashelin helped them collect a few more resources before the night came. Torn and Jak showed her the correct technique for hunting crabs and which plants were good for what purposes.

Olto awoke a few minutes later, and he too was returned to health and given the low-down on what had happened and where he was now. He revealed that he'd held onto his pocket knife, and it was added to their collection of useful tools.

Together, the four of them did their last work for the day, and when night fell, they created a fire using Ashelin's laser pistol, and tried their hand at cooking some of the crabs they'd caught. They all sat around the fire on the beach, and found happiness in the form of unity and friendship in the heart of their bleak obscurity. Now they were all together, they shared a sense of camaraderie and now possessed a new hope for the future. And the crabs they cooked turned out to be rather good. It made a great change to Torn and Jak who'd been eating them raw for the past few days, and also for Ashelin and Olto, as it had been some of the first nourishment they'd seen since the day of the battle. They all had a reason to enjoy it.

"I've never cared much for seafood before," said Olto, "But this isn't bad at all."

"You said it," said Ashelin, who was also savouring every bite.

"It's so great to finally eat something that's been cooked!" said Jak.

"It's lucky we found you," said Torn, "Otherwise we'd be forced to continue eating it raw, and I don't think that's something I could have coped with for much longer."

"You see?" said Jak, "What I told you back in Haven was true. If you want your food cooked, all you need to do is find a woman and you're there!" he joked.

"Oy!" protested Ashelin, but she couldn't resist chuckling at the joke herself.

For a moment, they all forgot their troubles and enjoyed themselves around the fire with their lovely cooked crabs and each others' company.

"What are we going to do tomorrow then?" asked Olto.

"Well, we'll have to expand the shelter so it'll accommodate all of us," said Jak, "But sleeping tonight shouldn't be a problem. It's warm enough, just find yourself one of the leaves and lie down under the sky."

Truthfully, all the days spent on the island had been flawless; bright skies and warm temperatures. It was almost tropical. This made them think about just how far away they were from Haven City. Surely they hadn't gone as far as the next hemisphere?

They'd collected a few more resources during the evening, which was enough for an expansion of the shelter; they just had to put it together the next morning.

Suddenly, Ashelin noticed something she hadn't seen before. "Jak, where's Daxter?"

All happiness turned to sorrow once more. "I'm afraid it's unlikely he survived," Jak replied solemnly, "I came here alone."

Ashelin's heart suddenly sank, and she was overcome with a deep sense of shock and disbelief. "I... I'm sorry Jak... that's terrible." She experienced the same feelings Torn had gone through when he'd heard of the news. She too thought that she wouldn't have missed Daxter that much if he was gone, but now the event had actually occurred, it was completely different. For over a year she'd put up with his unceasing snide and inapt behaviour and overt sexist remarks, but now that was gone. She thought back and remembered the Ottsel's mad grinning features, and felt a great loss inside her.

"Jak, I can't imagine how hard this must be for you," she continued, at last finding the words, "It must be horrible to lose such a close friend like that."

"I remember him," said Olto, "He always used to ride around on your shoulder. Poor lad." Olto had not got to know Daxter as well as the three others around him, so he was less struck with emotion, but he shared his sympathy with Jak and gave his condolences.

They all held a small moment of reverence in memory of Jak's little furry friend, but they didn't let their thoughts dwell on it for too long, unfortunate though it was. They knew that in the situation they were in, they could not afford to focus on the negativities. They had to maintain a positive attitude if they were to get through this.

As the fire died and the four friends finished the last of their food, they all settled down for a good night's sleep.

"We'll do our work tomorrow," said Torn, "We need rest now."

For that one special night of coalescence, the four of them lay down in a row under the trees and prepared themselves for the night. It was the first night on the island for Ashelin and Olto, and having spent most of the day sleeping already, they didn't feel very tired. But the concept of being stranded on a remote island far from home was daunting and made them feel like sleeping, so they joined Jak and Torn on the leaf beds and eventually drifted to sleep.

Their minds were all a little less troubled that night, and they all managed to get to sleep relatively quickly. A new day was coming tomorrow, and it would be the first of many more to come. The four friends had only just begun to experience the full vigour of the mysterious island they occupied, and they faced many more challenges in the very near future.


	8. Oversight

All had been peaceful before the Metal Heads arrived on the planet and instigated their violent assault against life. Everybody was shocked at what was happening. What had they done to deserve this? It was something they could not understand.

The Metal Heads immediately began a terrible war against all life they found, and their immense power, fuelled by their dark technology, helped them to expand further afield. Even the mightiest of strongholds could not stand up to their overwhelming destructive force. Emotion stood no place in the mind of a Metal Head. After seeing the limitless supplies of material hailing from Precursor origin, they could not stand to see a world so populated with it, and set out to obliterate everything in sight to rid the universe free of this world that so blatantly worshipped their ancient enemy. Their hatred for the Precursors burnt so intensely in their minds, that no amount of coaxing or persuasion could ever extinguish it for good. So the inhabitants of the planet did only what they could do, and fight back.

The war continued for so long, that no one could soon remember when it had started. Generation after generation fell to the dark onslaught, and where there had once stood great and powerful municipalities worthy of legendary anecdotes, there now stood barren and poisoned lands, where nothing but the dark spawn of the planet's new dominant species chose to grow. The world was changing, and everywhere there were bands of fighters defending their remaining settlements, from small contingents to vast armies. All who remained worked together to somehow turn the tide on the alien invaders and reclaim what was once theirs. But though they believed in what they fought for, in the back of their minds they all knew that there was nothing but inevitable death awaiting them.

That was until a hero by the name of Mar appeared and led the final force of fighters to victory, just when all seemed lost. He brought with him immense strength and technology that was capable of holding back the Metal Heads. He constructed a mighty wall that enclosed the last remaining free settlement of men, a wall that was thirty metres high and thirty metres thick without a single gap in it. This became the one sole barrier the Metal Heads were unable to penetrate.

The people saw faith and irrefutable appeal in Mar, and his strength and wisdom began to show. The Metal Heads began to take fatalities, as the last surviving band of men regrouped and repopulated and fought back with a much greater ferocity and power than before. Though they were restricted to within their city walls and could not further expand, the city became a focal point of the war, being the only safe place in the world for a man to find shelter and refuge from the unending conflict. Thus, the people came to call this city 'Haven'.

The people of Haven gathered strength and found their way back into recognition under the leadership of Mar. He devised new weapons to aid the city's defence, including one such gun that was big and powerful enough to take out the main Metal Head nest.

Thanks to his tactical genius and military power, the people of Haven started to recapture land around their city. In one part of the Wasteland they constructed Mar's great gun and were prepared to use it to commence a powerful attack on the Metal Head nest, but then a catastrophe struck and Mar's untimely passing fell upon the city like a ton of lead onto a freshly ripe fruit, crushing it under its weight with no chance of revival.

The people had to fall back to their city as they lost the land they'd fought so hard to recapture, leaving Mar's powerful weapon stranded in the Wasteland. Fortunately, the Metal Heads had not thought to use it for themselves, otherwise the war would have ended much sooner.

Mar was buried in the centre of the city, taking with him a secret that few people knew about. In his tomb, he was laid to rest with the last Precursor egg, concealing it forever from the Metal Heads, and protecting it until his descended heir came to reclaim it and finish his work.

The people began to falter, and the Metal Heads began to close in on the city once again. But Mar had instilled a fighting spirit into the hearts of the citizens of Haven, and a mighty statue was constructed to remind everyone of his brilliance and to keep them fighting. But without his personal leadership, the people of Haven could get no further in the fight, and the war became a stalemate. Each side took casualties but could make no further progress.

Many more rulers were set up on the throne to follow in Mar's footsteps, each claiming to be his rightful heir. Though the statue of Mar was ultimately lost, the people still fought with considerable valour and courage.

Then the Metal Heads gained strength once again, and the war turned in their favour. The rulers of Haven did their best to stem the fighting, but to no avail. Alone and without allies, Haven began to weaken and crumble into turmoil, awaiting only their final hope: for another hero to come and save them, and rescue them from the pit of despair they were sinking into.

But there was no one out there.

Or so they thought...

There had been another group of people who had survived the Metal Head onslaught. They inhabited a region of the planet far from the present day site of Haven City. Their settlement was named Idandi, and it had once been the centre of a peaceful and bountiful empire. The people who lived there were not warlike, and took only land that they knew was uninhabited and not owned by another faction. They would then use this land to expand their borders to build more homes or farmland.

The other peoples who populated the rest of the land around them saw no need to conquer or destroy the empire of Idandi. A trade route flourished between all surrounding settlements, and fights rarely broke out. It was a place where anyone would want to be.

The city of Idandi itself was built around a huge grey mountain, which held all the mineral reserves and metal ores in that region. Idandi was the centre of the mining industry, and all the surrounding settlements sought after these raw materials, and they were the main item of trade between them. In return, they shared their wealth and technology with the people of Idandi, allowing them to make significant technical advances to make mining and extracting all the more effective.

But since war was not a factor in this small portion of the world, they faced trouble when the Metal Heads arrived. What few armaments they had were utilised in their defence, but not to their full efficiency. All neighbouring settlements fell to the sheer power of their dark enemies.

Idandi was one of the last cities they arrived at, and had therefore had a chance to ready itself. Though it didn't make much of a difference. The citizens fought back with all their courage, but were no match for the Metal Heads. The entire city was razed to the ground, and not a single building was left standing. The only thing that was left was the great immovable mountain that had once been the city's famous centre landmark.

Believing their work to be done, the Metal Heads ensured that no one was left alive, and began to cultivate the land for their own evil motives. The earth turned black and dark purple as it was tainted by dark eco and many more of the Metal Heads' insidious creations. All plant life was infected or destroyed, and new dark plants grew in their places. Pulsating, dark green tumours of life covered in tendrils that sucked in all forms of nutrition around them. The land became unrecognisable. The mountain itself turned black as the world around it changed.

But the Metal Heads were deceived, for a few people had fled the city amidst the chaos to the ocean, where they kept a submersible craft that had been purchased from one of the now destroyed neighbouring settlements. They used it and retreated underwater, and there they found hidden caves that had been previously undiscovered. The caves were entered through a long passageway that eventually curved upwards into the land, and ended inside a huge air-filled cavern full of glittering rock formations and strange glowing crystals. It was here where they hid and dwelled for many years, growing food using hydroponics and artificial light.

With them were a team of scientists who worked tirelessly to find new ways of surviving, and remaining undetected. They designed and created new machines out of their own supplies and the natural resources available in their cave.

For years, they repopulated and regrouped. With them they had brought their radar systems, and had used them to monitor what was happening on the surface. They also discovered that their cave stretched on for miles inland, and even reached their city's famous mountain.

A new city evolved completely underground, carved out of the caves. The crystals possessed many uses, primarily as a source of light, but also a source of energy. Their technology allowed them to harness the power created by these crystals, and they implemented it into their lives. They created new weaponry that focussed the power from the crystals into a concentrated beam of energy, capable of cutting through the tough rock walls of the cave.

The years dragged on slowly, and the people gradually increased in number and in power. A close and constant eye was kept on the events happening on the surface. The Metal Heads had made the land unusable beyond any standard, and their homeland was reduced to an enormous molten slag heap. The land around the mountain became a globally known location where Metal Heads could come and dump their rubbish. It saddened the cave-dwellers greatly to see what their land had become at the hands of these monsters.

More than ten generations passed inside the cave, and evolution began to take its toll on the cave-dwellers. Their eyes grew larger and more sensitive to light, their skin grew pale, their hair thinned and eventually fell out, and their hands and feet became hard like leather after such long exposure to handling and walking on bare rock. They began to look like aliens, but they grew used to their new appearance, and sometimes used it to their advantage.

But then came the day when movement finally ceased above them. The Metal Heads had moved away and from the looks of it, they weren't returning. The reasons for this were unclear, but it was such a happy moment for them. Maybe now they could finally move back up to the surface and reclaim their homeland.

A few brave volunteers took their old submersible, fired it up once again, and returned to the surface. As they emerged above the water, the light shone and it burned their eyes. After years of living underground in the twilight, they could not cope with the bright sunlight without difficulty. They had to return to their cave and make better preparations.

They tried again during the night, and were able to walk on the surface once again after many generations. They could not recognise their homeland after the desecration caused by the Metal Heads, and it was nothing like the descriptions they'd heard that had been passed down by their ancestors.

When they approached the mountain, it was surrounded on all sides with enormous piles of toxic sludge and refuse left by the Metal Heads. The mountain itself, though still standing, was now blacker than the night. There was absolutely nothing they could do to shift the waste and repair the damaged land, but a keen sense of survival and rectification was implanted in their minds and they had to do something to return their city to its former glory.

They returned to the cave with the news, and they proposed a plan to move up to the surface with all of their equipment and machines and start their city anew. Even if the Metal Heads did return, they felt they were more ready to deal with them than they were last time.

A great evacuation commenced as everyone gathered together their belongings and began to move out of the caves in small groups on the submersible. But not before being issued with a new piece of equipment recently designed by the current scientists. It was a special headpiece that kept their heads covered and their eyes protected without obscuring their vision. It was vital for their success on the surface, and each individual treasured their helmet immensely.

As groups of people began to return to land in the submersible, a team of miners stayed behind and journeyed to the back of the cave, and tunnelled upwards into the mountain to access their old mines, and inspect the mountain's condition and quality. Cutting through the hard rock was not a problem for their new crystal-powered tools and technology.

Of course, the cave was not just forgotten about. It was always remembered and reserved as a back-up living space in case for any reason they were forced to hide there again.

As people began arriving on land and exploring the site of their old civilization, the group leaders began to plan their revival. There was no chance of building a new city on the earth now it was scorched and damaged beyond comparison, and the only suitable place left was the mountain. The exploration of the miners showed that the ore and materials were still usable inside the mountain and could be used to help them rebuild.

And so it was that the people of Idandi underwent the restoration of the mountain and their once beautiful city. A new settlement would rise up in its place; not the same as before, but one that would stand the test of time and provide a good defence against any possible future Metal Head attacks.

They worked in secret and knew not whether the Metal Heads would in fact return. A new city began to reappear on the site of the old Idandi, but not on the ground like it had been before. This new city was to be built into the mountain, far above the steaming piles of contaminated waste. Every day the city grew larger.

Using raw materials from the mountain, a halo was constructed around the summit, encompassing it completely. Then it was moved downwards until it was stuck in place, like a ring on a finger that was too big for it. The halo expanded into a platform that grew outwards, until the shape of the mountain changed into that of a disproportionate hourglass. Support beams were drilled into the sides of the mountain underneath it that stretched upwards to hold the underside of the platform to keep it in place. It was on this platform that the new city would be constructed.

The work took a long time. For ten years, construction was taking place atop and around the huge black mountain as the new city of Idandi began to take shape. Built entirely from the mountain's natural materials, it was a city of immense size and strength. What the people of Idandi achieved was staggering. Their city was hidden in the clouds away from sight, and they lived and worked there in secret.

Inside the mountain, a shaft ran down into the earth and back to the caves where more of their energy-giving crystals could be extracted and harnessed to give their civilization life and power. This also provided a quick passage to their back-up city in the caves should they ever need to use it again.

Construction never stopped, even when there were enough buildings to accommodate all the people. New factories and warehouses and laboratories were constructed to provide research into greater technology. What they possessed was unique; a little piece of technology from all the cultures that had been laid to waste by the Metal Heads in their area. Blended into one, this made something completely new. Aided by the power of the crystals, their strength and technology excelled further, and they began to make astounding breakthroughs in science and fabrication. They designed new engines and new vehicles that they could use to explore their old homeland, and new methods of transport to travel the world. Maps were made of the surrounding land, and new computers were designed to manage everything that needed to be done in the city.

The buildings themselves were sturdy and resilient. They contained few windows and remained dark inside. During the day, everybody wore their light-shielding helmets, and most of the activity occurred at night. It was a nocturnal city that did not work based on an economy; all people shared a spirit of camaraderie that powered them through life, knowing that they'd been through all this together.

But they had to keep a look out for any returning Metal Heads. Atop their mountain, they could keep a strong vigil on the land all around them, and a wall was built all around the edge of the supported platform for reasons of security but also safety. Larger versions of their hand-held crystal-powered firearms were designed and built to fit onto the wall to serve as a gun battery defence, should the Metal Heads plan any aerial attacks.

From a distance, the city looked like a huge dish impaled onto the mountain-top. But it was not to be taken lightly. It was a unique, independent, autonomous municipality, spawned out of complete secrecy and powered by the sheer strength of will to survive and prosper. It was the greatest anonymous achievement that had been seen in the entire history of the planet.

The people of Idandi lay quietly in wait, constantly gaining strength, and occasionally exploring the nearby land in search of possible survivors. It wasn't long before they summoned up the audacity to explore a little further. It seemed clear to them now that the Metal Heads were not coming back, so they decided to look further afield and maybe expand the borders of their realm, just like in the old days. But this was a new incarnation of Idandi, and they now were not afraid to use force if the need came to it, in revenge for the destruction of their homeland.

In time, the filth around their mountain started to naturally decompose, making the ground a little safer. Though they kept their dominance of the sky a supremacy. They possessed fast and manoeuvrable aircraft, capable of teleportation between two known locations, and these proved very useful in exploration of the terrain.

As they explored further and further, they eventually came to the ocean. What bountiful mysteries lay over the water? They spent more and more time devoted to discovery, and though they came across nothing useful to begin with, they held a firm belief that one day something would be found.

So it was that Rulo, captain of the Grey Wings squadron, accidentally stumbled across a scouting force from the city of Haven, and thus the two great nations became aware of each other for the first time, after the great Metal Head war had come to a close.

During this time, Haven City had been through some bad times. A mysterious hero by the name of Jak had arrived from the past, and had finished the job Mar had started, defeating the leader of the Metal Heads and saving the city. But then confusion arose, the Metal Heads retained strength, and a violent civil war ensued. Once again, Jak had to save the city and defeat another powerful enemy. But after succeeding, the city had now had a chance to rest and recuperate. Now, after picking up a signal on their radars, they'd dispatched a scouting party to investigate, and met with Rulo of the Grey Wings. They promised to start an alliance, after relaying the news back to their homelands.

Torn was feeling content with himself as he led his team back towards Haven City. He'd successfully made contact with another culture and started an exciting and interesting new alliance. Jak sat with him in the cruiser, also feeling a sense of exhilaration at what had been accomplished.

"What do you think our future will be like?" asked Torn.

"It looks very prosperous," answered Jak, "It's so great that we've finally found another city that's survived the Metal Head wars. What do you think, Dax?"

Daxter too was excited. He was actually surprised at how excited he was; he'd thought that he wouldn't care much for this. "It's big," he said, "Maybe we'll finally get a chance to see some fun in the city."

"Fun?" said Jak, "What's wrong with Haven?"

"It needs more nightlife, more dance clubs, more party joints!" said Daxter, "It's boring as it is now. Tess and I want to go and spend some nights out drinking and partying!"

"C'mon, Dax," said Jak, "All you ever care about is fun and excitement."

"He's got a point though," said Torn, "I'm sure everyone else back home would want a break from all the work and fighting, and want some time off to finally have some fun."

"Maybe we can get Ashelin to commission some more 'fun-zones' then," suggested Jak.

They discussed their plans all the way back home over the ocean. It was something they definitely needed to consider.

Over on the mountain-top city of Idandi, Rulo and his men were meeting up with their comrades, and spreading the news around to everyone. Great excitement rose all around as the sensational news arrived at everyone's door.

Rulo then went to see his leader, the wise Harr; a man of many years and a history of leadership behind him. It was he who led the people of Idandi out of the caves and overlooked the construction of the new city. He was the oldest and most respected resident out of everybody.

His domain was an elaborate series of rooms carved into the ascending mountainside in the centre of the platform that the city was perched on. From here, he could monitor his computers and keep a watchful eye over his people. He'd inherited much integrity from his many years and could always come up with a decent solution to all problems.

When his faithful commander Rulo approached him with the news, he was impressed. Such an opportunity should not be missed out on, he thought, and he must accept the invitation to personally attend Haven City and commence the alliance. He dressed himself in his best clothes and gathered together all of his finest followers, including Rulo, as his entourage.

Then his personal vehicle was made ready, and he watched in pride as his men quickly washed it down and applied a fresh coat of paint.

Meanwhile, Torn and his men were nearly home. They'd approached the mountain range just to the north-west of Haven City. But the clouds that they'd passed through earlier were now much thicker and obscured the view of the mountain peaks. Flying through would have been dangerous, even with high-visibility headlights on, as these clouds were storm clouds. Lightning twisted its way about the mountains, crackling with intense voltage and barring the way back home. Flying through such violent weather would be a hazard to their vehicles and the pilots driving them.

Torn faced two choices. He could either wait for the storm to pass, or fly around the mountains. Both would cost valuable time, but Torn decided to lead his men around the clouds to the south.

As he made his way, it was revealed to him that the storm clouds stretched further than he anticipated. His detour brought him further south and further away from the city. He was getting frustrated, and he had to get back there quickly. It was finally when the land levelled out once more and the mountain range ended that he could lead his men under the clouds and back towards home.

But as they approached the city once again, an unexpected sight greeted them.

"Is that smoke?" said Jak.

Torn could see that it was. From the centre of the city, a huge plume of black smoke was rising and blowing on the air.

"What in the hell is happening?" said Torn, more puzzled than ever. They'd just made the biggest and most monumental discovery in history, and here they were after a long day of travelling to reveal it, but now the city was in trouble once again.

As one big unit, they flew over the site, keeping their distance from the column of thick smoke. They could make out down below on the wrecked and ruined streets many Freedom Fighters, now fire fighters, trying to keep the blazing inferno under their control. Shards of elaborate grey metal stuck out of the streets, confirming a fear that no one wanted to have existed. What they were looking at was the remains of a destroyed troop of grey jets, jets that resembled what Rulo and his men had been piloting.

Everyone felt their minds leap out of place and their stomachs lurch violently. This couldn't be!

"Men! Get down there at once and find out what's happened!!" ordered Torn. He was angrier than Jak had ever heard him before. "Jak! We're going to HQ to get to the bottom of this!"

Torn sped off towards the HQ building at top speed, swearing under his breath. He arrived in seconds, and leapt out of the cruiser barely before it had time to touch down. He charged off up the stairs and Jak quickly followed, doing his best to keep up.

They burst into the main control room, and Ashelin turned around suddenly. She'd been at the window with a pair of binoculars, watching the burning wreckage.

"Ashelin! What the hell is going on here?" he shouted.

Ashelin was frightened of what to say, fearing that it might make him angrier. All she knew was that a mysterious flying craft had appeared over the city while they were away, and out of paranoia and the conditioned sense of suspicion towards strangers that had been instilled in the people over the years, they'd shot it down.

Even though he never received an answer, Torn knew what this meant. All the breath was suddenly shot out of him, and he fell to his knees on the hard floor. Here he was on the brink of a new future for Haven City, and now it had evaded him at the last possible moment. It was the worst thing he'd ever experienced in his life, worse even than his years of service in the Krimzon Guards.

Jak stood in the doorway, sharing Torn's deep emotions. Ashelin dropped her binoculars, realising that a terrible fault had been made, and raised her hands to her head in shame. For a whole minute, there was no sound within the room. It was the darkest moment in their entire lives.


	9. Looming Downpour

Torn sat upon the look-out hill and stared out into the ocean, awaiting the sunrise. He had slept very little throughout the night; his mind was whirling with deep thoughts and memories, and it troubled him greatly to think about them. They prevented him from sleeping, and they transferred into his dreams in what little periods of sleep he'd already had.

The unfinished beacon stood behind him like a giant wooden sentinel, keeping a close eye on him and the entire island that surrounded them. Occasionally his thoughts drifted to its completion and how it would ultimately look. At least their time on the island wasn't being wasted; they were looking toward a possible rescue. It was something that made them want to survive and keep going, and fixed a continuing hope in the back of their minds.

When Torn wasn't thinking about the beacon or the island, he cast his mind back to the air battle that had led them to being stranded on this isolated spit of land in the middle of the ocean. How long ago was it now? It must have been more than a week, maybe two. On the island, time felt like it moved slower than usual. It passed gradually and monotonously, and a day to Torn often felt like three, even though he watched the sun move across the sky like always, and he knew that time was in fact moving at the same speed that it always did, he couldn't help but feel that he was incarcerated on this island, and was being punished. But what for? What had he done?

His mind was beginning to wander, and he was letting his paranoid thoughts get the better of him. But then the sagacious part of his mind stepped in and reassured himself not to panic, and to stay level-headed. He suppressed his fears and suspicions back into his subconscious mind, and continued to await the sunrise.

He thought back to the months he'd spent in the war and all the fighting he'd done. Then he began to worry again. What if no one was coming to save them? Without his leadership, and Ashelin's civil management, and Jak's heroism, the city might be doomed.

He felt a sudden urge to know what was happening and why they were taking so long to be found. He had to get back there! But he was frustrated by the fact that he was stuck here with no way home, and he could do absolutely nothing. A great sense of fear came over him, a very acute fear. It was a fear mixed with shame, regret, helplessness, dread, and some other emotion that he'd never felt before and couldn't recognise.

He pulled his knees up under his chin and then rolled sideways onto the ground. His mind was a violent mess of all of his worst emotions. His attempts to suppress them had failed and he could no longer control himself. He felt like he wanted to die.

Then on the horizon, the crest of the sun rose and shone the first morning light onto the island. The light illuminated Torn's face, and his mind suddenly drew to a halt. His eyes stared blankly at the rising light, and then one final thought emerged into his mind and stayed there long enough for him to get some solid sense out of it.

_I wonder if I'm going mad._

Then he seemed to return to normal, and he stopped panicking and sat up again. That was the strangest and most troubling thing he'd yet experienced here on the island. But now his outburst had subsided, he decided to get up and return to the shelter.

When he got there, he could see that everyone else was still asleep. They'll be waking soon, he thought.

He quietly had a drink of water from one of the leaf pouches and sat down on the sand, waiting for his friends to awaken. There was no point in trying to get back to sleep now that the sun was up. He looked at them all and noticed how time had taken its toll on them already. Jak and Olto had full facial beards now, and he assumed that he looked much of the same. He ran a hand down his cheek and could feel the sharp hairs against his skin. Ashelin's lipstick had worn off over the last few days, and her red dreadlocks were beginning to fall apart and hang around her shoulders, just as his had done days before. But one thing they all shared was a dishevelled appearance. All had lost weight from living off the limited plants and fruits and small crabs that were to be found on this island, and they were all equally dirty. They were covered with sand and dried mud, and none of them had had a proper wash since they'd left Haven City; they'd all had to make do in the sea.

Torn waited for what must have been an hour before Olto finally awoke.

"Morning," said Torn quietly.

"How long have you been awake?" whispered Olto.

"Not long," said Torn. It was a lie, but he didn't want the others to start worrying about him.

"Well, what's the plan for today?" asked Olto, taking a quick drink.

"Pretty much the same as every other day so far, I guess," Torn answered, "Picking up more supplies, scouting the beaches, working on the beacon..."

"I'd quite like to go and explore the shoreline when the tide goes down today," said Olto, "We might find something interesting."

"You can do that if you want," said Torn, "I'd rather work on the beacon."

After Olto, Jak was the next to wake up, and then Ashelin. Then the day began. All four of them started the morning like they'd done every other. They patrolled around the island's perimeter and searched the beaches. Nothing was found this day save for lots of seaweed and one small splinter of wood.

But later on during the day, Jak joined Olto to explore the sands once the tide had retreated. A new thirty metres of sand and shingle had been revealed around the island, and the two of them had a little look around. The island seemed much bigger now that the tide had gone out. The land around the island continued on from the downward slope of the beach, extending the slant further out to sea. The two of them imagined it must have continued all the way to the floor of the ocean, forming the lump of land in the sea that was their island.

They both searched around the sand and the small pebbles in search of more materials. Olto was particularly interested in looking for seashells. He reckoned that he could make proper drinking cups out of ones that were big enough. He needed long spiralling ones for that though, and all he could find were flat ones, and they were pretty small. Maybe he could use them to decorate what they already had; bring a bit more colour into their life here.

The water around the big black rock had receded, and it was now standing on its own. They examined it to see if there was anything interesting near it. There were many small limpets clinging to the sides of it that were usually under water, and they proved difficult to remove. They saw no real use for them anyway. There were a few small rocks lying around it that could prove to be of some use, so they collected a few of them.

Then Olto got his wish. Jak spotted a large clam or oyster out in the waves just below the surface of the water. They went out to retrieve it, and it required both of their combined strengths to bring it back ashore. It was definitely the biggest clam they'd ever seen. It was roughly the size of a tyre, like the ones Jak had seen on his many vehicles back in Spargus.

Together, they carried it back to their shelter, and managed to prise it open with their spears. It was no easy task, but the results were rewarding. Inside was enough meat to feed them all for the next few days.

"We could have some of this later," said Jak, "We could cook it on the fire."

"No pearls though," said Olto.

Torn meanwhile was up the hill working on the beacon. He was very busy chopping up branches that he'd collected into usable strips of wood. He was wondering where everyone else was. Jak had promised to help him with this.

He was feeling tired due to the lack of sleep he'd had the last night, but he fought the urge to lie down and rest. If he did fall asleep, Jak would only arrive and then accuse him of being lazy. He could keep himself awake for the rest of the day, but by nightfall he'd definitely have to get some sleep.

Ashelin was in the forest collecting a few more provisions. She was unaware that she needn't bother doing so now that Jak and Olto had recovered that massive clam.

As midday approached, they all returned to the shelter for a break. None of them wanted to be working during the hottest part of the day. They shared some food and Olto began work on his shells. He only had very small ones that weren't much good for anything helpful, but he stuck a few of them to the ceiling of the shelter with some sticky tree sap that they'd collected. It gave them something nice to look at whilst they were trying to sleep. After a year of aggression and fighting in the Freedom League, he was now exercising his creative abilities and getting in touch with his sensitive side. It was something he was actually enjoying more than he thought he would. Everyone else approved of it though. There was little in the way of entertainment on the island, compared to what they were used to in their industrialised lives in Haven City.

The tide was still going out by the time they decided to return to work. This time Jak went to help Torn with the beacon, and Ashelin and Olto went off to explore the shoreline a little more in search of extra shells.

Out in the water, Ashelin and Olto were in up to their knees. They'd already found a few more small ones, but Olto was still not satisfied. He wanted really big ones like the clam.

"What kind are you looking for?" asked Ashelin, examining a small round shell.

"I want big long spiralling ones to make some proper cups out of," he explained, "But I don't know if we'll find any that are exactly what I'm after."

"We can try," said Ashelin.

They continued looking. They found many more small ones that could be used to add to Olto's ceiling shell-scape, but nothing of the scale that he desired. But he did find something interesting. While sifting through the sand he uncovered a piece of what he thought he was looking for. It was a small shard of a shell that was definitely part of one that was a spiral shape. It was the very tip, and though it got him excited, the piece he had now was not much good for a cup. He believed that there must be bigger ones out there.

"I think they must be further out to sea," he said, "If there was a piece like this, the rest of it must be out there somewhere."

"What if the rest is in pieces that are just as small?" asked Ashelin.

"They might be, but then again they might not, I don't know. I want to go out there and dive down to search the sea floor."

"Just how do you plan to do that?"

Olto thought for a moment. He could hold his breath for a while. But he didn't know how dangerous or difficult it would be. He was sad that he might never get a chance to find what he was looking for.

They returned with their collection to the shelter, and Olto began to continue his work on the ceiling. Ashelin meanwhile went to check on Torn and Jak to see how their work was coming along.

She found them busily working on the wood, cutting it into more pieces that were suitable for building with. The beacon was starting to take shape now. It had a wide base to keep it standing upright, and it narrowed as it got higher. Torn explained that when it was finally finished it would look like a giant spike atop the hill, and the peak would hold a burning torch to show the rescue team where they were. That is, if there really was a rescue team on its way.

Ashelin stayed and helped out a little bit by cutting up some more wood and putting some in place on the beacon. It was now as tall as she was, but Torn said it needed to be maybe two or three times bigger.

As the afternoon drew on, the work continued. Finally, Ashelin left to check on Olto and see how he was doing. It was a few minutes later when Jak said to Torn, "Look at those clouds."

Torn looked up and far on the horizon was a vast cluster of dark grey clouds. They were still miles away, but they were getting closer, and the wind direction confirmed that. They'd be over the island before the end of the day.

It was a stark contrast against the clear blue sky that had remained throughout the day, and they were in fact some of the few clouds they'd seen during their entire time on the island. But these ones looked foreboding.

"Looks like a storm," said Jak, and his thoughts were confirmed when a distant flash illuminated the clouds, and a few seconds later they heard a low rumble.

"That's not good," said Torn, "If that's heading this way, we could be in for some serious trouble."

"You pack up the tools, I'll go back and warn Ashelin and Olto," said Jak, "We'll need to prepare ourselves for this."

They put their plan into action. Jak rushed back to the shelter and Torn gathered together everything on the hill. Though the beacon was still unfinished, it was sturdy and supported, but Torn knew that there was a risk of it collapsing. There was nothing he could do about it though, all he could do was leave it and hope for the best.

Jak returned to the shelter to find Olto still working on his shell picture and Ashelin was out on the sand looking for more for his collection.

"Listen guys," he said, "I think there's a storm coming. We've got to prepare for it and protect our supplies and equipment."

They looked and saw the ominous clouds approaching, and agreed and started to gather up all they had. They wrapped some of their supplies up in leaves and buried them in the sand under their beds in the shelter. They checked and reinforced the roof and the supporting sticks, and made sure that it wasn't going to fall down.

By the time Torn returned with the tools, the sky was grey and there was a strong wind blowing. Torn quickly stored the tools inside their special toolbox, which was made out of the back-end of the Hellcat they'd recovered.

Then they all huddled together under the roof of the shelter just as the rain arrived. It came down on them like bullets. The sand all around them was soaked within the first minute, and the wind was throwing up huge waves down at the shore, which threatened to crash onto land and destroy their shelter. The rain hammered down on the roof, hitting the metal plates built into it and making loud clanging noises that sounded more like pebbles rather than rain falling from the sky.

"I hope we've built this thing to stand up to this storm!" shouted Olto over the noise.

Thunder crashed overhead and lightning flashed constantly, bathing the island in momentary bursts of brightness.

"If one of those hits the trees, the whole island could go up in flames!" said Jak.

"There's nothing we can do about that," said Torn, "We'll just have to wait for this to pass over."

So they sat there under the shelter, keeping relatively dry and safe from the raging storm outside. When lightning didn't strike, the day was as dark as the night, as the clouds overhead blocked out the sun.


	10. Instigation of War

A heavy guilt now hung over the Freedom HQ building. Just an hour ago, a mysterious troop of vessels had hovered over the city, after appearing from nowhere. Now it lay in pieces on the streets, burning and melting, as the Freedom Fighters cleared the pieces and extinguished the flames.

Olto stood nearby, watching his comrades clean up the scattered wreckage. He felt terrible inside. He'd travelled with Torn and Jak as part of the scout team and had witnessed the meeting with the mysterious people of Idandi. But now, a terrible misunderstanding, combined with the nurtured attitude of Haven's people, a piece of bad timing and sheer bad luck, a possible new future had just come to a shattering end.

Olto himself was thinking about how much of a current future they had now. The people of Idandi were not going to be happy about this should they find out what had happened here.

Two Freedom Fighters pulled a charred and burnt corpse out of the smouldering wreckage. Olto recognised him, even in the deplorable state he was in. It was Rulo, the mysterious pilot who they'd met above the ocean and made their arrangements with. A second corpse was recovered, and though Olto didn't recognise this one, he knew he must have been someone important because of what remained of his elaborate dressings. He knew this was really bad, and the people of Idandi probably would not tolerate the loss of this individual. Though he didn't know it, that individual was in fact Harr, the proclaimed leader of Idandi, come to meet his new found allies in their home city. His time of wisdom and leadership was over.

Meanwhile, inside the Freedom HQ building, Torn, Jak and Ashelin were trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Ashelin told her side of the story.

"After you left the city, we all waited eagerly for your return and the results you'd bring. Nobody knew what to expect, but we all hoped for the best possible outcome. When you went out of range of radio contact, all we could do was wait in hope.

"For more than an hour, we continued with daily business. The Freedom League was out cleaning up the city and repairing what damage was left to be done. Then the work was interrupted as a bright flash lit up the sky and that sound from the recording echoed around all corners of the city. Suddenly, there were three huge vehicles hovering above the industrial sector, two small ones and one big one. Nobody knew what they were or where they'd just come from, or what they were doing here. They hovered silently over us, as if taking in their surroundings.

"By this time, you hadn't returned from your mission, and we didn't know whether they were hostile or here to make friends. But as you know, because of the years of war this city's been through, and the peoples' attitude towards foreign invaders, most people would have assumed that these flying vehicles were here to conquer the city.

"Now what happened next, I'm not so sure of. Some say that a troop of Freedom Fighters opened fire on the crafts with their weapons. Some others say that the crafts themselves had fired the first shot. And someone else told me that an old KG defence turret went off unexpectedly. I don't know who to believe. I myself was in here all the time, and didn't see who fired the first shot or how it all happened. All I know is that something happened that made the crafts open fire on the streets.

"We managed to take them down, but it was no easy task. These vehicles were made of a resilient metal that I've never seen before. It took more than five rounds from our heaviest weaponry just to take down one. They caused some damage to certain parts of the city in their fight, but when they were eventually destroyed, we all regrouped and investigated these strange vehicles.

"Then you returned, and now I understand that what we've done is bad…"

Torn sighed heavily. "Ashelin… those vehicles were from another city. Another city that's far away from here, and one that survived the Metal Head wars. We met some of their air force out over the ocean, and learned of each others' histories. We'd agreed to let them come to our city and discuss an alliance…"

Ashelin's mind suddenly froze when she heard Torn say this. She now realised just how terrible and severe this was. They'd arrived at Haven looking for peace, and they'd been shot down and killed.

Torn continued. "We headed back here as fast as we could, to tell you the news and to prepare the city for their arrival. But we ran into a storm, and were delayed as we flew around it for miles. It seems to me that in this time, they arrived at Haven before us, and finding you all here, unprepared and unaware of their existence, it was a shock for them to be suddenly attacked. Just as it was a shock for you to see them appear suddenly out of nowhere."

"But how do they do that?" asked Ashelin, still feeling very uneasy.

"It's their technology," said Torn, "They're able to teleport their vehicles over great distances using location co-ordinates. I handed the co-ordinates for our city to them so they could arrive here when they were ready. But it seems they got here before we did."

There was silence in the room.

"That means they might come back!" said Ashelin, "They're bound to come and investigate when their first team does not return to them. And since they still have our co-ordinates, getting here will be all too easy for them."

"This is bad," said Jak.

Torn was now feeling a bit guilty for giving them the co-ordinates. And in the state the city was in, they may not survive another war, especially against the technology of Idandi. They'd be able to travel directly here and then pour their might onto the city.

Down in the streets, Olto and his men were trying to clean up the wreckage as quickly as possible. There were still a few small fires burning that were almost under control, but there was still a lot of metal lying all over the place. It was a tough and arduous job, but it had to be done.

It had been an hour after the scouts returned, and by now, the people of Idandi must have been wondering what was taking their emissaries so long. Surely they'd come looking for them soon. Then what would happen? What would they do? It was about to be found out.

Everyone's worst moment of fear came about as a second troop of grey jets flashed overhead. They hovered silently for a few seconds, and the pilots on board saw what could only be their first squad, lying in burning pieces throughout the city streets. There was nothing the people of Haven could do to prevent them returning home. With another flash, the jets were gone.

Ashelin saw this from the window of the Freedom HQ building. "Now what?" she said, "They've surely seen what's happened now."

"There's nothing we can do but prepare ourselves now," said Torn, "No doubt they'll return a third time with a conclusive goal in mind. I'll go round up our spare troops and have them on guard. Jak, I want you and Daxter to prepare yourselves as well. Go to the hangar and power up the remaining Hellcats. I'll send an alert through the building for any soldier still in here to go there immediately. You're in charge of them now for today, and I want you all to patrol the skies, but don't open fire until we know for sure what they're going to do. Shoot only after they've done so. Good luck."

"You too, Torn," said Jak, getting into battle shape, "I hope we make it through this…"

"Ashelin, keep an eye out over the city and make sure nothing more unfortunate happens that could put us in further jeopardy. It's vital that everyone remains calm and does nothing unwise, because we are unlikely to be able to afford another mistake."

Ashelin understood. Even though she was the highest authority in the city and everyone answered to her, it did not surprise her to be receiving orders from Torn. They both knew that his military tactics were some of the best the city had ever seen, and when he had a plan, it was a plan worth listening to.

Torn then proceeded to put his plan into action. He rushed off to his station to relay his orders through the building, while Jak went down to the Hellcat hangar. Five more Freedom Fighters joined him there and boarded the remaining cruisers, launching through the roof and into the sky. From there, they flew all around the city, keeping a close eye on the Industrial section in particular.

After leaving the building, Torn went to his own personal vehicle and piloted it to the Industrial section to inspect the damage and monitor his troops. When he got there, he found several shattered defences and a few wounded soldiers. He regrouped those who were still able to fight, and prepared them for what to expect.

Ashelin remained in the Freedom HQ building to keep a watchful eye over the city. A couple of the scientists working there also monitored the computers and radars for any activity.

"It's better to look out the window," Ashelin told them, "Your eyes are the best tools against a foe that appears from nowhere."

All over the city, everyone waited in anticipation. They knew they just had to return, and they needed to be on guard and ready for whatever consequences they might bring with them.

Back at the mountain-top citadel of Idandi, the team had just returned. They came to break the unfortunate news to their people, about what they'd seen and what needed to be done about it. The city and its people were hit hard by the loss of their leader figure and their air force captain. Their guiding mind and their front man in their defence were both no more, and they felt suddenly very vulnerable. But they couldn't understand why this had happened. Why had they been shot down and destroyed after the people of Haven City had promised to form an alliance? The pilots had not stayed long enough to ask questions. They'd been so shocked by what they'd seen, and teleported out as quickly as possible, driven also by the fear that the same fate may fall upon them too.

Without a leader, the people of Idandi struggled with what should be done next. But they'd come far enough by themselves to react sensibly. They quickly elected a new leader, who they thought was to be the best choice.

They chose Harr's son, a man named Losk. He'd always followed his father, and helped him organise and execute the many construction plans on the new city. The people thought there was no better man for the job. But Losk was struck the hardest out of everyone in the city. He'd lost his father, and a deep sadness and rage burned inside him. He wanted to avenge his father's death using the only way he knew how: war.

His first act as the new leader of Idandi was to order the city's armed forces to muster and prepare to embark on a third trip to Haven City.

They had two big advantages against their opponents. One was their advanced crystal-powered weaponry which was powerful enough to cut through stone. The other big advantage was that their new friends-turned-enemies did not know where their city was, and the case was not the same vice versa. They still possessed the co-ordinates that had been handed to them, which they could use to travel directly to their enemies.

All over the city, people were gathering their weapons and activating their jets, ready to pay another visit to Haven City, but this time with destructive intent. Losk wanted them to pay for their actions, and he was venting his anger through violence. He hand-picked a new air force commander to lead the assault, who had the plan of taking them forcefully by surprise. They were to teleport in, guns fixed onto the defences that were no doubt set up by now, and then aim for key locations around the city.

All spare jets were made ready, and their pilots were well prepared. They too shared the sudden anger of their new leader, and felt nothing more than to get over to Haven City as fast as possible and give them an equal taste of the damage they'd caused. If they didn't do so now, what was to stop them attacking them again?

All the jets were given the clear signal to take off, and the engines were flicked into life. They hovered upwards for a few seconds, and then all together, the pilots inserted the co-ordinates and flashed off to their destination.

Back in Haven City, the sky was illuminated with another flash, and Torn was shocked to see a whole fleet of hovering jets now above him. His men felt tense. What was going to happen?

"Steady," said Torn, "Don't shoot…"

Jak, who was flying around the city in his cruiser, was also feeling the same as Torn. He kept his eye on them, and remembered his orders to not give the first shot.

Ashelin saw it all from the window of the Freedom HQ building, nervous of what was going to happen next.

All the soldiers on the street below looked up in awe and fear. Their weapons rested in their arms but remained silent, true to their orders. Those who were removing the last pieces of wreckage also stopped in awe, and even though they'd cleaned up most of the mess, there was still enough of it left for the pilots of Idandi to see what had become of their leader and the accompanying escort.

For a solemn minute, the city was still. On the ground, in the air, at the window, there was silence.

Then it was broken as a bright beam of concentrated energy burst out of the leading jet and struck a Freedom defence battery, splitting it into five flaming pieces that fizzed and crackled violently. A wave of heat was emitted from the wreckage that spread around the whole area, as the two operators burned inside it.

That was it! Torn shouted into his hand-held radio: "OPEN FIRE!!!"

The nine remaining gun batteries around him unleashed round after round of rapid-fire volleys, while every Freedom Guard around the city opened fire with their rifles at the nearest jet they could see.

The fleet came under fire from all directions underneath them, and then from directly behind as Jak and his squad of Hellcats approached without warning. Two jets at the front and five at the back caught fire, and the rest of them zoomed away to different parts of the city. The gun batteries followed their movements, and were joined by others around the city that sprang into action as the jets passed overhead.

Ashelin was watching everything from the Freedom HQ building, and marvelled at the sheer amount of flak that was spraying into the sky, as well as the additional fire from the Hellcats that pursued the invading jets.

When Jak saw the jets break off, he relayed an order to the rest of his squad. "Pick a target and give chase!" he said, and they then broke away from formation to shoot down as many hostile aircraft as possible.

The jets themselves were flying in co-ordinated patterns around the city so they did not crash into each other, and always flew in threes. Jak launched after one that took his fancy, even though they were all identical, and pursued it. He came up directly behind it and opened fire, tearing up the engines and bringing the jet down to the ground.

As they continued in their flight patterns around the city, the jets launched more beams of crystal energy earthwards, making deep gashes in the street pavements and ripping apart concrete structures. Nobody could believe how much damage they were causing. What were these strange weapons they were using? It only angered the citizens of Haven even more, and drove them to fight harder for the defence of their city.

Torn was barking orders on the ground and keeping his men fighting effectively. The gunners fired continuously into the sky, because there were so many jets flying overhead that there was always at least one in sight. They concentrated their fire, trying carefully to not hit their own cruisers.

Ashelin continued to watch the brave soldiers of Haven defend their city with valour. It was then that she realised that a jet was heading straight for the Freedom HQ building. She dived to safety just in time before a powerful energy beam burst through the window, melting the glass as it went, and destroying all the machinery in the room. For a few seconds afterwards, the entire room temperature felt like it had been tripled, but it was soon restored as the cool outside air flowed in through the gaping hole in the wall. Ashelin got back to her feet and decided it was time to move elsewhere.

Back outside, the battle continued. More jets were dropping all over the place, and the city was now looking like a scrap heap. The energy beams fired by the jets ripped buildings in two and tore up roads, causing fires that burned with relentless fury. Even as the jets were shot down they caused more damage still as they exploded on impact. Everywhere there was chaos.

The jets focused primarily on the streets below and seemed to ignore the Hellcats flying after them. They'd knocked out many of the anti-aircraft guns and had lessened the amount of flak in the air.

Down on the streets, Freedom Guards were rushing in every direction; either heading to another gun battery, to reinforce the surviving troops, or had been called to a burning part of town that needed to be saved. They had to be careful to avoid any incoming enemy fire as they ran through the city.

Jak was doing his best to shoot down as many as he could before they could cause any more serious damage. There were few of them remaining now, maybe only a dozen. As the sky became friendlier, the Hellcat pilots found it easier to manoeuvre and to target the jets. When four more had fallen, they suddenly teleported away, leaving behind them a burning wake of death, damage and undoing.

There was no celebration. The city was a realm of destruction. Many buildings had been shattered and some of the roads had even melted, making it unsafe for civilian usage. The city was sucked back into a torrent of war, and it was one that they might not see the end of. In the fragile state the city was in, and now they were up against an opponent even more powerful than the Metal Heads, things looked bleak.

Torn rounded up his men to search for survivors and put out any fires. Jak landed in the street next to him while the rest of the pilots carried out Torn's orders. Ashelin later arrived in her own personal Hellcat.

"This is bad," said Jak.

"It'll take days to repair this damage," said Ashelin.

"And what if they return for a follow-up attack?" said Torn. It was inevitable.

"We'll have to always be ready," said Ashelin, "There's no telling when they might return or how much of a force they'll bring with them."

"I'll get some men to salvage parts from their downed aircraft," said Torn, "Then maybe we can study their weaponry and see what makes them such a force to be reckoned with."

"Sounds like a plan," said Jak.

"Come on Jak!" said Daxter, who Jak had completely forgotten was on his shoulder, "Let's head back to the Naughty Ottsel. I've got to see if Tess is OK!"

"Go on, Jak," said Torn, "We'll deal with this situation, you go deal with yours."

Jak boarded a nearby zoomer and headed into south-town with Daxter. This left Torn and Ashelin standing amidst the broken buildings.

"The HQ building got damaged in the fighting," said Ashelin, "It's top priority that it gets repaired."

"You're right there," said Torn, "We'll get to that soon."

"Just look at this place…"

The city was in a worse state than it had been during the previous civil war. Nothing on this scale of destruction had been seen in the whole of the city's history.

Now the war had really begun.


	11. Dampened

The rains continued throughout the night. The four friends were stuck underneath the shelter as the elements decorated the environment all around them. The sky grew blacker as the night wore on, and soon it was impossible to see until a streak of lightning fleetingly illuminated the world.

Though the shelter was primitive, it was sturdy and supported enough to stand up to the heavy rain and the forceful winds, and thanks to the constant renovating that had been done to it, it was large enough for all four of them to take cover underneath and still have sufficient space left. As the winds died down and the rain became lighter, they attempted to get some sleep. Torn himself was in need of it more than the others, though they didn't know that, and despite the storm that hung over the island, he was able to find comfort and fall to sleep, as did the others. He didn't know whether it was because his feelings of madness had passed or if he was just too tired, but he didn't think on it as sleep took him. The others had greater difficulty finding sleep, but they all eventually managed it. It was still raining and too dark to go outside the shelter, so what else was there for them to do?

During the night, the storm petered out as the clouds passed over and headed further out to sea. But some grey clouds still remained, though they posed no threat. When morning came, it was brighter, the rain had completely stopped, but the sky was still obscured.

The first to awaken was Jak, and he could see that the sand was still wet, and drops of rain still fell from the trees above them. It was also much colder. He got up and left the shelter, leaving his friends to wake up naturally. He'd dreamed about being back at Haven City that night, and being back at the Naughty Ottsel, enjoying a warm drink with Daxter. He still missed him, and he didn't think the pain would ever go away.

A drip of water fell onto his head from the trees above, and he walked across the soaking sand towards the sea. It clung to his feet and felt cool and refreshing, which was a pleasant change to it always being hot and dry. He looked out across the ocean and could see the distant flashes of lightning heading further away. The sea was calm, and washed ashore gently at his feet. Now the storm had passed, everything seemed tranquil and peaceful, and the island looked a lot duller and much more composed now that it wasn't bathed in bright sunlight.

Jak felt a great longing to leave the island and see it from afar, wondering what others would see if they passed by. He rubbed his beard and thought to himself of more ways to escape. The only conclusion he could come up with was that they could build a boat out of some of the trees on the island, and maybe some of the objects they'd found on the beaches. Building such a boat would take time, and also a lot of effort. It was something to keep in mind if their beacon failed.

He went for a short walk along the shoreline, keeping his bare feet in the cold water. He felt like walking, and he saw it as the best thing to do since he couldn't leave the island.

When he was over on the other side of the island, Ashelin awoke and wondered where he was. She saw his solitary trail of footprints in the plain wet sand and understood that he must have gone for a walk. She too got up and stood by the shoreline. She looked out over the water, just as Jak had done, and saw the distant storm clouds on the horizon. Then she looked up, noted the direction the clouds were moving, and looked in the opposite direction. There were still lots more clouds heading their way, but thankfully they were not storm clouds at least. It looked like they'd be in for a cloudy day though.

She heard footsteps on the sand behind her and looked around to see Olto striding towards her.

"Quite a storm wasn't it?" he said.

"Mmm hmm," she hummed, "But it's gone now."

"Where's Jak then?"

"Gone for a walk I think," she replied.

Olto then looked at the sea and analysed the tide. "I think today would be a good day to look further out in the water for shells," he said.

"What makes you think that?"

"The sea's the calmest I've ever seen it today," he explained, "And when the tide goes out, it'll be much easier to go out further than before."

"I see," said Ashelin, "Good luck with that."

"You want to come as well?" he asked.

"I suppose I could," replied Ashelin.

Suddenly, Torn noisily woke up behind them, and the sound caught their attention. He'd slept very peacefully throughout the night, despite the storm, and now he'd awoken, he felt much better than he'd done yesterday. Less tired, at least. He felt much clearer in the head now after a good night's sleep, even though it had happened on a rather rough night.

But he got up and saw Ashelin and Olto down by the shore, and then he remembered the beacon.

He shouted it out to himself, and ran through the trees towards the hill. Olto and Ashelin decided they should follow, and set off after him.

The forest was still very wet underfoot, and water still dripped from the tree tops onto their heads as they ran. Several times they nearly slipped. They thought that maybe Torn was a little too obsessed with this whole beacon thing. Sure, it was important, but he didn't have to be thinking about it all the time.

When they got to the hill, they could see the effects the rains had caused to it. The once green and grass-covered hill was now coated in slimy mud, formed from the soil underneath as the heavy rain pelted into it and was absorbed into the ground. Torn scrambled up the hill, taking the driest and least slippery course he could find, and Ashelin and Olto followed him up.

When they got to the top, Jak was already there, looking over a pile of shattered sticks and soaked branches. It was clear now that the half-finished beacon had not survived the storm. It now lay in pieces atop the hill, and the rest of it was buried in the mud or had slid down the other side.

Torn sighed. It was a hard blow for him to have his work destroyed like this.

"I should have reinforced it more," said Torn, "Or taken it down and put it somewhere safer."

"At least the bush is still in one piece," said Olto, trying to point out the positive factors, though in truth he could see very few.

"We'll have to start again," said Jak, "Come on Torn, I'll help you gather more materials."

The two of them got to work, and Ashelin and Olto thought it was only fair to help as well.

All four of them started work on the new beacon together. They had the advantage of sticking the base into the mud so it would be better supported when it dried out. More trees were stripped of their branches for use in the construction as they worked through the damp morning.

Later, they decided to have a break, because none of them had had anything to eat yet, and they were all getting quite hungry. They returned to the shelter for some food.

Afterwards, Torn returned to work on the beacon while Ashelin and Olto ventured out into the water in search of shells. Olto was determined he could find the one he was looking for. Jak stayed behind and collected more supplies for the camp.

Ashelin and Olto walked to the end of the beach where the big rock was. The tide was out now, and Olto's predictions had been correct. It was out further than it had ever been before, and made it easier to explore.

They walked out over the sand and into the shallow waters. The water was cold, and it surprised them when they set foot in it. At just above knee-height, this was about as far as they'd travelled last time, and they now had the potential to go much further. As they continued, the land sloped downwards and the water level got higher. When they looked back the island seemed much higher up than they were now.

They ventured further and descended lower down the island's banks. Before long they were up to their waists, and in normal circumstances they'd be in over their heads.

"Let's try here," said Olto, and they began probing the water for shells. Olto had kept his fragment that he'd found the other day, hoping he'd find the rest of it.

For several minutes they searched, and though they found many interesting shells, there were no big ones. But Olto was determined to keep looking, and soon he found what he was looking for. As he waded through the water, his leg brushed against something. He turned around and could see under the water something large and round.

"Ashelin! I think I've found it!" he shouted and started to lift it out of the water. Ashelin made her way over to him, and was surprised by what he was carrying. Olto had in his hands a long spiralling whorled shell that was a light purple colour and as long as his arm. It was an intricately designed and a very beautiful piece of natural marine life and looking at it made both of them feel a deep sense of fortune. They'd just discovered something that very possibly nobody had ever seen before, and now that they had it, they felt to be in possession of something elusive and powerful.

"Just think what we could do with this!" said Olto, "It could be really useful. And look! The end is still on it!" This wasn't the shell his fragment had come from, as this one was clearly still intact. This was a completely different one.

"What were you planning on using this for?" asked Ashelin.

"We could perhaps make ourselves some proper drinking cups out of this," said Olto, "Or a chimney for our shelter, or a top for the beacon." Those were just a few ideas he'd pulled out of his mind.

"Well come on, let's get it back there," said Ashelin, and they worked together to take it back towards the island. It was quite heavy, and it felt like there was something inside it. There actually was, and this was discovered after taking a few steps. Something wiggled out of the opening of the shell, and Ashelin saw it and it made her jump.

"Olto! There's still a crab in here!" she shouted.

Olto looked and he saw it. It was a pretty big crab, and it was snapping angrily at Ashelin, who was forced to drop her end to avoid receiving a wounded finger.

Olto tried to shake it out, but it stayed inside. "Forget about him for now," he said, "We can try and get him out when we get back. My spear's back at the shelter, we can use that."

Ashelin picked it up again, this time holding a part that was further away from the crab and closer to Olto.

Meanwhile atop the hill, Torn looked out and could see them heading back carrying something large. He felt excited and decided to go back down and see them.

He met them on the beach, and was surprised at the huge shell they were carrying.

"Look what we've found!" said Olto.

"Wow," said Torn, "And that was what you were looking for, right?"

"Yep. All we've got to do now is to get rid of the crab inside it and then figure out what to use it for."

They set it down in the sand, and Olto fetched his spear and used it to jab inside the shell and remove the crab on the end of it, wriggling and snapping its claws.

"That's the biggest crab I've ever seen," said Torn.

"Guess it has to be to fit inside a shell like that," said Ashelin.

Olto handed the speared crab to Torn, and then examined the shell all over. Then he snapped his fingers and had a great idea of what he could use it for. He ran to the tools, even though they were only a few feet away, and then rushed back to the shell. He slung his bag of tools over his shoulder and then picked up the shell in both hands, before taking it with him into the forest.

"Where are you going?" asked Ashelin.

"To the lake," he replied, "I've got a great idea."

"Should we follow him?" asked Ashelin to Torn.

Torn chuckled to himself. "I'd leave him be. I think he needs some time alone with his shell," he joked.

They both had a good laugh, and then decided to eat the crab.

Meanwhile, Jak was on the other side of the island, looking for supplies in the forest. He'd recently found himself thinking more and more about his lost companion Daxter, and he needed some time alone to think things through. He decided to use his time resourcefully however, and continued to search for and gather more supplies for themselves here on the island.

But he also found his mind returning to another he longed to see again. Though he'd got used to spending long periods of time separated from Keira, he still missed her. Now that the war was over and the city had been slowly returning to normal, he'd been hoping to start spending some more time with her. She was one of the few original companions he still had left. Daxter, Samos, Keira and himself had all travelled through the time rift together, and then spent two years apart from each other, before finally reuniting again during the end of the reign of Baron Praxis. Those four were now three, and Jak felt an urge to suddenly be with them again.

Suddenly, he was distracted from his thinking by a commotion ahead of him. He went forward to investigate, and found Olto crouching beside the lake with a massive shell.

"Where did you find that?" asked Jak, both amazed and shocked by the size of it.

"Out in the sea," he said, "The tide went down and I went out and found it."

"OK, so what are you going to do with it now?" asked Jak.

"Wait and see," he said, "But first I've got to clean out all this crab shit from the inside."

He then rammed his hand inside the shell, and he could pull it all the way up to his shoulder before running out of room at the end. He began to scoop out all the slime stuck to the interior of the shell, and flung it at a nearby bush.

"You're not going to make a shirt sleeve out of it, are you?" joked Jak, and they both laughed at his humour.

But then without warning, Olto suddenly dropped the shell, moaned and clutched both hands to his stomach. The happy atmosphere quickly vanished, and Jak rushed towards him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Olto began to regain himself. The sudden pain he'd experienced was only momentary, and vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, "Probably just a cramp. Must be all this excitement."

Jak left him to his work; he seemed OK now. He left with a parting word of advice. "Just don't get any of that in the lake, we drink that stuff remember."

"Don't worry," Olto replied.

Jak then returned to the shelter with his supplies, and returned to his thoughts of his lost friend, and those he may never see again. It saddened him to think about it, but it was what kept him going and hoping for an escape from this dreadful island.


	12. Journey to Spargus

The war had continued for several more weeks after the grave mistake that had cost both sides a bountiful alliance with one another. Even after all this time, neither side was entirely sure of how this would end. They were currently locked in a stalemate, as neither of them could advance any further into the other's territory.

The warriors of Idandi continuously assaulted their opponents, sometimes twice in one day, focussed solely on avenging their fallen leader who had met his end on that tragic day when it all started. They'd been so overcome by rage that they'd rather foolishly sworn to destroy those who'd brought this event upon them, thereby eliminating any chance of an alliance. This had been the decision of the city's new leader, who in truth was not entirely ready for this task. Though rather immoral and with no previous experience of leadership, he was the only choice the people of Idandi really had. Under his rule, new attacks were launched nearly every day. Some went well, others not so well. Their opponents rebuilt their defences as quickly as they were being destroyed, which made things very difficult for them. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't claim a suitable victory.

Haven City had its problems too. Even though they were putting up a monumental fight, they were an easy target. Their enemies knew exactly where they were and could appear out of nowhere and commence an attack whenever they liked. The case was not the same for them. They had no idea where their enemies' city was, and had no way of finding it easily. All they could do was defend themselves until they could come up with a suitable plan of action. But they fought with the undying spirit of Mar within them. They'd lasted this long, and they weren't going to let their city fall, not even now against this seemingly unbeatable enemy. And years of fighting against the relentless Metal Head onslaught had hardened them into resilient warriors who would never give up what they'd been given by Mar all those years ago.

With new attacks facing them every day, they had to react quickly. Nearly everyone in the city had been educated in basic engineering, and they all did their part to help the war effort, by constructing and repairing the defences that meant so much to them. Without them, they'd be dead.

Several buildings around the city also needed maintenance. Though the unremitting fleets of jets rarely fired upon the buildings and concentrated mainly on the defences, those that were shot down could not be stopped from ploughing into the ground around the city and causing yet more damage and fires. This was how most of Haven's casualties came about, but of course the most dangerous job of all was manning the defences.

The HQ building had been fired upon several times and had received damage, but as always it was on the top priority list of repairs. The jets also occasionally opened fire on other tall buildings that looked important, but these too were quickly repaired.

However, despite their continuous onslaught, the people of Idandi soon found themselves running short of jets and equipment. They received far more casualties than Haven City, and had run into a problem. If they continued attacking they could eventually win, but if they took a break to rebuild their forces it could give their opponents the much needed time to strengthen up and fight back. They eventually decided to keep attacking, but much less often.

Haven City now found a few momentary days of peace, and they used these wisely to build more defences, make important repairs and decide new tactics.

During a lull in the fighting one day, the city leaders met in a council to discuss their next plans. Among them were Ashelin, Torn, Jak and Daxter. Though Daxter himself was not really needed there, Jak brought him along too because he thought he needed to know the circumstances, but mainly because he couldn't be trusted on his own with Tess. Here they discussed their thoughts about how to make progress.

"It's clear that we're up against an adversary that will not give up easily," explained Ashelin to her compatriots gathered around the large square table, "And though their unceasing attacks against us have lessened over the past two weeks, the war continues. It's clear that it's either going to be us or them that will fall."

Ashelin was right. Even though the people of Haven City were reluctant to fight another war so soon after the end of a previous one, it looked as if they had no other choice. They'd been successfully defending themselves for weeks with no progression from either side, and there seemed no alternative but to finally make some sort of attack of their own. But how were they to do it? This was what they were here to discuss.

"So," Ashelin continued, "We need to establish a method of moving forward and bring the fight to them for once instead of waiting for it to come to us."

Someone at the end of the table spoke up. "It's true that we don't know where their city lies, but we're not going to find out just by sitting here debating it. There is no doubt that we must start patrols beyond the city walls to at least find out where their city isn't."

Torn then added his thoughts. "We know they lie roughly to the north-west, as we discovered from our investigation mission. I think our best bet is to look further in that direction."

Many of the others present in the room agreed with this plan. Though it may not have been the most direct or quickest way to find their enemies, it was all they could do at this present time.

"I think we should build a small secondary base in the mountains or somewhere they won't find us," said someone else, "So in that way we can build up our forces there and focus on defensive measures here in the city."

Now that was a good idea. Ashelin approved and definitely knew that it was something to be considered.

"But what if our enemies are gaining strength while we sit here talking?" said the man sitting next to him, "They might be designing new weapons to annihilate us."

"We need to find a way to halt their progress while advancing ours," said Torn.

"I have an idea," said a particularly brainy scientist sitting opposite.

"Let's hear it," said Ashelin.

"Well, you see when they teleport in, they always materialise in exactly the same spot."

"That was because of the co-ordinates we gave them," said Torn, who was still feeling guilty for handing them over in the first place.

"That's it, you see. If we can isolate that spot where they materialise, then we may be able to get somewhere. At the moment all we have is several guns pointing at that area. I reckon that my team and I could design and construct some sort of energy shield that we could place in that spot to keep them there. Then we would have a better chance of taking them down at least."

"That might just work," agreed everyone else, "How long will it take to do this?"

"My team and I could probably whip up something like that in a few months if it were normal circumstances. But since these are not normal circumstances, we can work at double pace to get it done as quickly as possible."

"So be it," said Ashelin.

"What do you think Jak?" asked Torn. Jak had remained pretty quiet during this meeting, as had Daxter.

"Well, if we need extra help at least, we could always call on Spargus for reinforcements."

"Are you sure they'd be willing to fight for us?" asked Ashelin, "They were banished from the city after all, and after the treatment they received from my father, they may not want to come back."

"Sig's the king of Spargus," said Jak, "And he knows what it's like in Haven. He should have no problem mobilising an army of Wastelanders for us."

"You're right there," said Ashelin, "Jak, I want you to go to Spargus with the message for Sig, and see what you can do."

"It'll be good to see that old lug again!" said Daxter, now feeling much happier.

Jak and Daxter were no longer needed at the meeting, so they were excused and allowed to begin their journey to Spargus.

They left the HQ building and boarded a zoomer that was parked outside the door. Jak flicked the switch and it burst into life and shot upwards. He recklessly accelerated down the streets as he always did, but luckily there weren't many other vehicles around. Everyone else was wise enough to stay inside their homes and take shelter for whenever the next attack would arrive.

There were many squads of Freedom Guards scattered around the city, repairing damaged buildings or setting up more defences. As they passed through the Industrial zone, they saw the area where the enemies always appeared. It had been cordoned off from the public and had every gun in the vicinity pointing upwards at the direct point in the sky. There were Freedom Guards everywhere keeping a watchful eye on everything.

As they approached the port, Daxter said to Jak, "Do you think Sig will be up for another fight?"

"Of course he will!" answered Jak, "Sig's tougher than tough, and he's always ready to knock some heads around."

"_Metal _heads," said Daxter.

"That's true, but since there've been no wars taking place around Spargus for a while now, I'm sure Sig's bored, and couldn't care less about who he fights now."

Soon, the drop ship came into sight, moored at one of the port's tower bases, and as Jak got close enough, he leapt off the zoomer and landed right next to it, while the zoomer itself careened into the water. That was always something that caught Daxter by surprise, and made his stomach lurch as they landed on the ground. But now they climbed aboard the drop ship and took a seat on the bench inside. The door closed behind them and they felt the vehicle launch into the air and over the city wall into the Wasteland.

By the time the ship arrived outside the walls of Spargus, Daxter had long been asleep. The force of their touch-down knocked him off the bench and onto the floor, waking him up. Once again he climbed atop Jak's shoulder and the two of them stepped out into the familiar but hostile desert.

The sun was high in the sky and beamed down onto the sand with intense heat. There was no wind, which was good in the fact that they didn't have to face a raging storm, but it didn't help them to keep cool either.

"This place hasn't changed much," mused Daxter.

Jak seemed perplexed. "Were you expecting it to?"

"No…" said Daxter.

"Come on, let's get to the city before the Marauders show up," said Jak, and he began to trek through the sand towards the mighty gates of the Spargus garage.

The doors hissed open as they approached them, and guess who was there to greet them, but none other than Kleiver.

"'Ello mates!" he growled in his same old gruff tone, and his moustache vibrated heavily when he spoke. Veger was perched on his shoulder, but Daxter soon noticed that his feet were tied there.

"Kleiver, we need to see Sig," explained Jak, "It's important."

"The king? And I thought you were here to see me!" replied Kleiver. His sarcasm didn't go unnoticed. "Yeah, you can see 'im. He's up in the palace, usual spot."

"Thanks Kleiver," said Jak, and continued on his way. As he passed Kleiver, Daxter quickly and quietly said to Veger, "How's it going?"

"You don't want to know…" came the reply.

Spargus still seemed calm and normal as Jak and Daxter made their way through the busy streets. There was nothing particularly noteworthy happening and the whole city was exactly how they remembered it from their time spent there after being banished from Haven City.

Soon they came to the gate of the palace. As Jak stepped through and into the lift, memories returned to him regarding how he'd always ascended the lift to find Damas, sitting on his throne and waiting to give him some sort of task that needed to be done or some urgent mission that required completing. This was the first time he'd returned to the palace without having Damas there waiting for him.

But he wasn't too saddened by this, as an old friend was now there in his place. A friend who'd helped him through many dangers and accompanied him into situations of extreme peril. This was someone who was not easily turned down from a challenge, and would always stand in to protect his friends.

The lift took them up into the palace (which had also remained unchanged apart from a couple of Metal Head trophies now decorating the walls) and they stepped out to find Sig on his throne polishing his peace maker. He looked up the moment the lift came to a halt.

"Hello cherries!" he called as he spotted his old friends.

"Hey Sig, how's ruling Spargus been for ya?" asked Daxter, cheered to see his old mate again, "Not been too tough for ya, big guy?"

Sig chuckled. "Nah, it's easier than finding marauders in the Wasteland! How've you been?"

"Good," said Jak, but couldn't resist smiling himself, "But we need to speak to you about something important."

"Fire away, chilli pepper!"

Jak told Sig everything about the discovery of Idandi, the sudden war and all that had been happening over the past couple of weeks, and Sig listened intently. He was surprised to hear about this new city and the war that was now taking place between them, but now he felt upset that his friends were in danger.

"We were all wondering if your Wastelanders would be willing to join us in this fight," said Jak.

Sig felt compelled to help out, and he always loved a fight. He even took part in the arena battles himself just for fun, and that was a rather odd thing for a king to be doing. But his people liked it, and no one dared argue with a man who always carried a large peace maker around with him. Though Sig would never use it against anyone he liked, and he knew that as a king, it would be extremely unwise to attack his own people.

"Baby, you know I got your back!" Sig answered, "Tell you the truth, things have been pretty dull around here since you saved the world again. I've missed fighting real enemies, and all the Metal Heads seem to have scarpered. These ones were all I found out in the Wasteland…" He gestured to the trophies hanging about the room.

"So is it yes or no?" asked Daxter.

"Hell yeah, chilli pepper! You just say the word and I'll be there to cover your butt!"

This response made both Jak and Daxter very happy, now with the knowledge that they had a great and powerful ally at their side. But their mission had been accomplished now, and it was time to return to Ashelin with the news. The old friends said their goodbyes and headed out of the palace.

As they walked through the garage once again, they noticed that Kleiver was still standing in the exact same place. Did he really have nothing better to do than stand there all day? However, he didn't seem to notice them as they left the city and headed back to their drop ship that awaited them in the desert.

By now, the wind had kicked up, and sand blew into their faces as the door opened. Jak once again found himself having to don his facial protection, as he staggered through the sand back towards the rough shape of the drop ship in the distance.


	13. Experiences

The island was still covered in clouds as the afternoon drew to a close. Nobody could quite remember how long they'd spent here, but they knew that it was time they should start thinking about getting away. They had a second beacon under construction, after the previous night's storm had wrecked the original, and Torn spent most of his time thinking or working on it.

Olto was busy making something out of a huge shell he'd found in the water, and what it was only he knew. He requested privacy to work on it, and it was given to him. After all, on an island like this, even though it was big enough, everyone needed some time to themselves once in a while.

Torn had decided that he'd leave the work he'd done on the beacon for today and rest until tomorrow. He joined Ashelin and Jak at the shelter and there they stayed until nightfall. They talked about many things to keep themselves amused, and found that even in their dire circumstance, they were having fun. Olto could hear laughter coming from the direction of the shelter, and smiled to himself knowing that his friends were all enjoying themselves. He then focussed once more on his shell creation, determined to get it finished before dark.

"You know what I really like about this place?" said Ashelin.

"What's that, then?" asked Jak.

"It's that we're miles away from any jobs or troubles and we can do whatever we want here without interruption."

Even though this was their first established drawback, they were now beginning to see the lighter side to their predicament.

"Yeah…" Torn agreed, stretching his arms, "For once I can lie back and not have to worry about any 'official business' or 'matters of national security', and I can actually relax here. It's like a holiday, really."

"You're right," said Jak, "We've got the beach, the scenery, the great food, and the weather. Well… not today…"

The negative aspects of being stuck on the island had subsided, and though they still hadn't completely vanished, it was like they'd been shoved aside for a day, and the positive aspects had finally shown themselves.

"It's a great feeling, isn't it?" said Ashelin, "The feeling of freedom." They'd experienced very little freedom in Haven City, and it was something they'd become very used to talking about, but now that it had actually happened, it felt completely different.

"It's something we've been fighting for back in Haven for so long," said Torn, "And yet here we are now basking in its full glory, and we didn't even do anything to get here."

"You know, when we do eventually get back, this is what I'd like to achieve one day," said Ashelin, "When the fighting's finally all over and we can at last experience perfect peace, this is something I'd definitely want to bring into our lives."

"I don't blame you," said Jak, "And you are the governor, so you can get it done."

"Yeah…" Ashelin closed her eyes and tried to imagine how a combination of the freedom of the island and the structure of Haven City would look.

Jak himself was reminded of his days before he came to Haven City. There were no big cities, no rich technology, no pollution, and everything was peaceful and beautiful. Life was lived in the simple way, with no huge machines to make things easy, and all the work had to be done manually.

"Hey, the fire's going out again, Ashelin," said Torn.

Ashelin picked up her laser pistol and shot at the dying flames, but nothing happened, the gun just fizzed and then spluttered.

"Oh, it needs to be charged up," she said.

"You got a charger?" asked Jak.

"Yeah, in my other cruiser!" said Ashelin sarcastically. "But if we leave it for a few hours it should slowly recharge itself. You got any more wood?"

Jak leaned over and grabbed a few spare sticks from their supplies and poked them into the fire. It was still warm enough to catch and soon the flames were bigger again.

They sat quietly for a little while, warming themselves around the flames. A small gust of wind hit them, and it sent chills all around.

Ashelin shivered. "Woo, it's getting cold…" she said.

"I hope the sun returns tomorrow," said Torn.

They all looked out towards the sea and the tide was now back to where it normally was.

Several minutes later, Olto came back to the shelter with his new creation. The shell looked the same on the outside, but it now had a mesh made of twigs, leaves and small branches at the top, all stripped of their bark, and held in place by sticky tree sap that had dried and set hard. The pointed end had been removed, and in its place was a leaf wrapped around the gap at the end. He intended to use this as a means to store water close to the shelter so they didn't have to journey over to one of the lakes so often. The mesh filtered out any impurities and it would collect water clean enough to drink safely inside the rest of the shell, even rain water should it ever rain again. A small hole was drilled into the side near the bottom, and the pointed end was jammed in there. He explained that whenever they wanted a drink they could pull it out and fill up their containers. They had the outer shells of the fruits they'd picked up to use as bowls, and if he could find even more of those, he bet he could make plenty for everybody.

As a bonus, he'd constructed a three-legged stand the shell could fit into and stand upside-down so they could pour water in through the top mesh.

The others marvelled at Olto's ingenuity and his skill in piecing this impressive storage tank together. It could really help them.

It was put into use immediately, set up close to the shelter on the stand and then they filled it up with a bit of water from their collections.

After that, Jak volunteered to go to the lake and get a bit more. When he returned the sun had almost set. They all gathered together and ate some more food around the remnants of the fire, and then decided to sleep early. They'd had a productive day, and they all agreed they deserved some rest.

It was dark enough to get to sleep now, and it was a little warmer than it had been earlier. Torn reckoned that it would be sunny tomorrow, and they all settled down beneath the shelter with that thought in mind. As they drifted into sleep, the clouds above them moved slowly away. By the time they were all asleep, there were significant gaps in the clouds and starlight shone through. The green sun also showed itself once again and lightened up the island with a pale green glow.

Something strange happened to Jak that night.

As he slept, Jak once again dreamt about being back in Haven City. He was by himself inside the Freedom HQ building, in the main room surrounded by machinery. Everything was functioning rather chaotically, and Jak was trying to establish what was wrong with it. Incorrect readings kept appearing on-screen and the computers claimed they were under attack, even though he knew full well that there was nothing outside at the moment. He saw something in his peripheral vision, and turned his head to see the doors slide open. A repairman entered, and kindly waved at him. Jak politely waved back, and watched as he then opened a hatch in the floor and descended into the bowels of the machinery. Had that always been there?

Slowly, the computers began to return to normal. They ceased making obscure calculations, and seemed to calm down, now functioning at a regular pace. Jak then gained a greater understanding of where he was. He looked around himself and saw that many of the computers now displayed messages that seemed to be directed at him. He struggled to make out exactly what they said, as the words were out of focus and seemed too dim to read properly, and kept changing and shifting. But now his attention was drawn to the control terminal in the centre of the room, which was still not functioning correctly. He gave it a kick but nothing happened. He then heard a faint thud from below him, and the terminal then returned to working properly.

Suddenly, Jak's mind cleared up and a strange realisation came over him. What was he doing back in the city when he knew he was stuck on some distant island right now? Had he somehow returned here long ago and simply forgotten about it? It just didn't seem real, even though everything around him was just like it should be. Then his eyebrows shot up and it felt like his eyes burst out of his head. 'This is a dream!' he thought, and the words echoed all around the room.

Suddenly, Vin's virtual head flicked up on the centre terminal. "That's right, baby!" it said, before quickly disappearing once again.

A great sense of revelation came over Jak as he realised the full meaning of those words. Then he remembered that the last thing he did on the island was going to sleep. Yes, this was definitely a dream.

He quickly felt a huge sense of discovery come over him, and the sheer shock of what he'd achieved. But then one of the computers made a strange noise that distracted him from his thoughts and brought him back to where he was.

He was in the control room, back at Haven City. Jak then realised that he was home again, and sure it was only a dream, but it was better than nothing. In fact it was better even than that, as he was now aware of this dream state and he could actually control his own movements in this dream.

Then he had a wonderful idea. He ran out of the doors, into the lift and down the shaft to the door. As he opened it, he saw that he was now in the port, standing at the foot of the tower where the drop ship was usually parked. He then heard a rumbling overhead and looked up to see the drop ship itself coming down. He quickly moved aside to let it land. The hatch opened and he was shocked and delighted to see Keira stepping out of it.

She saw him and froze on the spot. Then she ran the short distance towards him and they embraced in a warm hug.

"Jak!" she cried, "I'm so glad you're back!"

"It's good to see you again Keira," Jak responded, playing along with the storyline that seemed to be unfolding here, but there was some honesty in that statement as well. Should he tell her it was all a dream and spoil the moment?

"Jak, we were all so worried!" she continued in his arms, "We all thought you'd died!"

"Ahem," Jak cleared his throat. Keira drew back from him, sensing his emotion. He had a fantastic plan that might just be crazy enough to work.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Keira," he said, "Listen carefully and try to stay calm. I'm not real. You're not real. None of this is real. This is a dream."

Keira looked puzzled and stunned at the same time. He read the look on her face. What's he talking about?

"Listen," he continued, "I don't know if this is going to work, but it's worth a try. I'm asleep at the moment and I'm in a dream. I don't know if you're dreaming as well or if you're just a part of my imagination, but I need you get this message across to the city. I'm alive, and so are Ashelin, and Torn, and a Freedom Fighter called Olto. We're stuck on an island and have no way to get off it. You need to tell everyone back in the city that we're alive and we need rescuing. Do you understand?"

Keira made no sound, but her face was white as powder and she looked to be on the verge of tears. She seemed to stop in time and was frozen to the spot. The look on her face burned right into Jak's mind and stayed there for a very long time afterwards. But then to his horror, Keira vanished from in front of him, and the entire environment around him began to fizzle and merge into one huge smudge of colour.

He shouted out. "KEIRA!"

But then everything went black. The next thing he was aware of was a throbbing pain in his head. He'd awoken and sat up so quickly that he'd hit his head on a thick branch that was part of the shelter's ceiling. Luckily, he'd not woken up the others, and he took a few moments to recollect what had just happened. He remembered his dream and his attempt to send Keira a message, and wondered to himself if it had worked. Was she just a piece of his imagination, or did he somehow meet up with her in the dream world?

There was no way of knowing right now, and all he could do was settle back to sleep. It was still dark and too early to get up now. Plus, he was eager to get back to dreaming and see if he could achieve something else like he'd just experienced.

A few minutes after Jak returned to sleep, Ashelin awoke. She hadn't been awoken by a dream as Jak had, but she'd woken up naturally and didn't feel tired anymore. Even though it was still dark, she decided to get up.

She walked out along the beach, and looked around. At night, the island was a completely different place. The wind was still, the sea was calm and flat, and above her the starry sky sparkled with an intense beauty. A few clouds still remained, but they were thin and almost transparent. She stood there for several minutes looking up at the stars, captivated by their distant glimmers. It was a sight she was not used to seeing back in Haven City, where the constant glow of street lights obscured the night sky, but now, out on the island where there was no light pollution, the full glory of the stars were revealed.

The green sun hung in space like a huge glowing ball of eco, and bathed the beach in an ominous green glow that was like a filter on a giant light bulb. It was a very unique experience to stand in such a location. She was so amazed by this that she walked the entire perimeter of the island by herself, watching the light and the shadows change as she went, before she became aware that she'd even moved.

When she returned to the shelter she felt hungry, and wanted to eat some of the berries from the bush atop the hill. She quietly rummaged through the supplies but could find none, they'd run out.

She decided the need was too great and went to get some more. The forest was quiet and still as she made her way through towards the hill. Nothing moved at all. The light didn't penetrate as far under the top branches of the trees and made it hard for her to see where she was going sometimes, but she persisted and continued on.

When she arrived at the foot of the hill, the green light revealed that it was still very muddy. The mud had dried a little, but it still looked very slippery. Ashelin carefully made her way up, trying hard to keep her footing and not to slip over, because that was the last thing she wanted.

Eventually she made it to the top, and Torn's unfinished beacon stood like a broken sentinel, watching over the island. The bush had a few berries growing on it, and Ashelin began to remove a few to eat. She took some others as well to put with the supplies back at the shelter, and these she put into her pockets. She left a couple of berries on the bush so they hadn't completely run out.

Then she carefully made her way back down the hill again. Going down was harder than getting up, as she found it much harder to keep her balance, and it didn't help at all that it was dark and she couldn't see exactly where she was going. But then it happened; she lost her footing and fell backwards into the side of the muddy hill, and then slipped all the way down to the bottom, leaving a huge streak in the mud behind her. She lay at the bottom of the hill for a few seconds, buried in mud, not believing what had just happened. She swore loudly, not caring if she woke up the others, and then tried to get back to her feet.

Being engulfed by thick sticky mud wasn't a pleasant experience, and she stood there not knowing where to go or what to do next. So instead, she just said "Damn!" In her fall, the berries in her pockets had been squashed, but she wasn't to know that until later. She took a step, and could feel mud squelching underfoot, and she kept moving until she was out of the mud. She then found that it had soaked through her shoes, and they were now completely coated on the inside. There was no doubt about it; she needed a wash, badly.

She squelched off through the trees, cursing under her breath at her unfortunate luck, towards one of the lakes. She was originally thinking of going to the sea, but she was so filthy and angry with herself that she just couldn't stand being like this any longer. And even though she knew full well that the lakes were where they got their water from, she knew that if the others weren't told, they probably wouldn't notice.

She arrived at the lakeside and removed her shoes. She held them upside down as a waterfall of mud cascaded to the ground, and then dipped them into the water to rinse them off. She removed them in a relatively clean state, and then put them to one side to dry.

She looked around the area and noticed suddenly how beautiful it was in the green light of night. The leaves seemed alive and moving of their own accord, and they probably were, since there was almost no wind. She then noticed how secluded this place was. She was surrounded by greenery on all sides and had her feet dipping in the water right in front of her. The sensation felt almost magic, and the experience of being in this beautiful setting was overwhelming.

She then realised once more why she was there. So far she'd only washed her shoes and her feet. Feeling completely secure and imperceptible in this magical setting, she removed the rest of her clothes and slowly entered the water. It was a warm night, and the cool water was so refreshing that she felt as if she was suddenly a new person. Deeper she went until she was up to her neck in water, and then she completely submerged her head below the surface.

When she re-surfaced she felt clean and almost re-born. Even in the darkness of the night, she could clearly see the mud in the water flowing away from her, and she then continued to fully take advantage of this moment, and swam around the lake many times. It was one of the most breath-taking sensations she could remember. She was away from the city, undisturbed, secluded and totally free of worries. She took in the magical moment and felt as if nothing else in the world was important any more.

She swam into the shallows and lay back in the water, looking up at the canopy above her, rife with living greenery. Through a gap in the leaves the stars were visible, and moments later the light of the green sun shone through as it moved overhead. Another indescribable feeling came over her as she lay in the shallow water. It felt as if she had washed away the filth and impurities of her time spent on the island, and was being replenished with new life and feelings and emotions. Here she was completely encompassed by nature, and there was nothing else here to serve as a disturbance or interruption, and she felt completely at one with herself.

Then she was lifted from her experience by the feeling of something brushing along her leg. Even though it came unexpectedly, she wasn't startled, she didn't even flinch; she was in such a powerful state of relaxation. She looked down calmly and noticed that a small fish had just swum alongside her. It stopped close to her with its head above the water, and it had big, round unblinking eyes that seemed to be filled to the brim with curiosity. It also seemed to be smiling at her. Or was that her imagination?

Ashelin smiled back and said, "Don't worry, little fish, you can have this lake all to yourself again very soon."

The fish swam off back to the depths of the water, and even though Ashelin was reluctant to leave this unique experience, she felt she had to. It was sad, because it had been a truly remarkable experience that could not be replicated back in Haven City, not even in the tranquil lushness of Haven Forest.

She climbed out of the water once again, and felt a cool breeze pass through the trees. The first breath of a new life. She went to where her muddy clothes lay and knelt down by the lake to wash them, piece by piece. She felt completely cleansed, and now she was finishing the final step of this symbolic ritual.

Once her clothes were fully clean and free of mud, she felt almost revitalised. Even though she was still fully aware that she was trapped on this island, she now felt ready to face up to the challenge. Her experience had instilled a new will to survive, and she knew that now was the time to think of plans of escape. They couldn't sit here forever and await a rescue that may never arrive; they had to make an effort by themselves.

Her clothes would take a while to dry completely, and she was unsure of what to do until daybreak. For the remainder of the night, she sat by the lake, with her feet dangling in the water, thinking about what the future might bring. She'd also been thinking of possible escape routes. However, like Jak, she'd only managed to come up with building a boat and attempting to sail away. Something to fall back on if the beacon failed, without a doubt.

As the sun came up and light returned to the island, Ashelin could now see that it was going to be a beautiful day. The clouds had now passed over and the sky was clear once again. She looked around and saw her surroundings in daylight, revealing the true form of the location where she'd spent her wonderful night. It was as if the whole place had transformed now back into the usual fresh water lake that she'd come to know during her time spent here. At night it was a completely different place.

She knew the guys would probably be waking up soon and that she'd best start putting her clothes back on. Though they weren't completely dry yet, they were suitable enough to put back on without feeling uncomfortable. She decided to walk around in the early light for a bit until she was now fully dry once more.

Now back in her clothes, she felt as if her troubles and her worries had returned, though not so dominantly as before. During the night she'd felt completely free from all her worries and just revelled in the experience.

She walked the perimeter of the island several times, while still checking the beaches for anything new that may have washed ashore (she found nothing), and each time checking to see if either Torn, Jak or Olto had awoken yet with every pass of the shelter. Eventually, Jak woke up and noticed Ashelin on her walk. She was now dry enough that there was no way of telling what had happened overnight.

He got up and joined her. "Morning, Ashelin," he said.

"Morning, Jak."

"It's a great day today," said Jak, observing the sky.

"Yeah, storm's definitely passed now."

Ashelin explained her plan she'd come to, and the idea of building a boat should the beacon fail to draw in a rescue. Jak agreed, explaining that he'd had similar thoughts, and that it was something they should definitely start work on soon. Neither of them divulged their unique experiences of the night; Jak, his lucid dream, and Ashelin, her time at the lake.

Torn awoke soon after their discussion, and after having a little food, set off to the hill to continue work on the beacon. But he returned afterwards, running back through the trees shouting about something strange at the hill. His shouting woke up Olto, who like Jak and Ashelin, followed Torn back to the centre of the island.

When they arrived there, they saw what Torn had been on about. He pointed to the mud on the side of the hill which had mysteriously slid down into a ditch at the bottom. This was where Ashelin had fallen during the night, but she pretended she didn't know what had happened to avoid embarrassment. But it wasn't the mud Torn was interested in. He was more concerned with what was underneath it.


	14. Turning Point

Jak and Daxter returned to Haven City to find that nothing more had happened since before their departure. Jak stepped out of the vehicle and onto the tower base of the port, looking around and surveying his surroundings. There were Freedom Guards on patrol, keeping an eye on the skies and ensuring that no citizens entered the Industrial zone, which was now off limits to all but the soldiers.

"Hmm," Jak said, "They're getting ready for another attack."

"Well of course they are!" said Daxter, leaping off his companion's shoulder and onto the ground, "They've been attacking us nearly every day!"

"I've got a feeling they're coming again soon," continued Jak, "We'd better get back to Fr-"

He was cut off as his communicator device suddenly lurched out of his backpack. Ashelin's voice came from the speakers.

"Jak?" she said, "How did the mission go? Do you have an answer?" Clearly she couldn't wait the short journey between the port and the HQ building.

"Err, yeah," answered Jak, "Sig said he'd be happy to help out the war effort should we call on him for help. He and his Wastelanders haven't seen much action in a while."

"I thought as much," said Torn's voice, "Sig was always up for some action."

"Jak, you need to get back here as soon as you can," continued Ashelin, "We've got a plan now that could really help us progress forward." Then the communicator ended its call and zoomed back into Jak's backpack.

"What a waste of time!" said Daxter, "Why couldn't she just tell us right now?"

"Come on, Dax, let's go."

"Wait, you're just going? Why don't you just use that thing to get back to them?"

"Err…" The truth was, Jak had never learned how to use the communicator. It just sat at the bottom of his pack all the time, and had only ever been used when someone wanted to talk with him. It always conveniently activated itself right on time.

"Forget it!" said Daxter, "If you need me, you'll know where to find me." With that, Daxter scuttled off in the general direction of The Naughty Ottsel.

Jak meanwhile stood and said nothing. Some obscure thought flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it. He then boarded a nearby zoomer and set off for Freedom Headquarters.

Upon arriving, he ascended the lift to Ashelin's floor and there he found her discussing some plans with Torn and a scientist.

"Jak," she said as he entered the room, "Great job on the mission to Spargus. But we've got a new plan to help us in this war."

Torn carried on. "I'm going to take some troops into the mountains and find an area to construct our second base," he explained, "We'll probably head for the old drill platform that's still up there. It hasn't been used since the civil war broke out, and it can help us with gathering more supplies and what's left of the eco up there."

"We may also have a way of finding the enemy city," said Ashelin. She then gestured towards the scientist, signalling for him to explain.

"I've been working in the lab with my assistants, and after overcoming many technical flaws and settling many design issues, we've come up with this…" He produced a small metal device from his pocket. It was the shape of a shell, flat on the bottom and rounded on the top, with a small light that was obviously supposed to flash.

"This is a tracking device, modified from a beacon given to us by the governor. The bottom is magnetic, and we've tested it on some of the metal parts retrieved from destroyed enemy aircraft, and they both attract. We've also designed it to fit to the head of a non-explosive missile, and when fired at a target, it'll detach from the projectile on impact and stick to the metal of an enemy jet. Should it stay in position, and it should because we've tested it, we'll be able to follow it on our radar when they return to their city."

The moment Jak heard the words 'beacon' and 'governor', an old mystery that had remained unexplained for almost two years suddenly returned to him.

"Jak, we need someone to utilise these tracking devices in the next battle, so we may get a chance of finally discovering where our enemies come from," said Ashelin, who also had become aware of the same question in Jak's mind, and knew what was coming the moment she'd finish talking. "You're one of the best flyers we've got, Jak. Now's your chance to put your skills to good use, and help us tag an enemy jet. What do you say?"

Jak knew he had to accept. "I'll do it," he answered, "But I still want to know something. After all this time, you still haven't explained to me how you knew my father. Surely you can tell me now, now that it's all over."

Ashelin was quiet for a few moments, and then gave an answer.

"I suppose you deserve to know now. Back when Damas was still ruling the city, everyone was on good terms and everything was running smoothly. Your father was a great leader, Jak. Under his rule, the city was a great place to live.

"My father worked as head of the military in the Palace, and was highly praised for his tactics and his iron will to fight and defend the city from the Metal Heads. Damas rewarded him constantly for his deeds, and I think my father began to assume that he would most certainly be successor to the throne after Damas, as there was no heir to the city during that time.

"However, when you were born, Jak, I mean your younger self, it became increasingly clear that my father would not succeed as the next ruler of the city. When Damas himself declared this, he started planning against him to forcibly gain hold of the throne. With all that military power, he could do it. Though the soldiers were reluctant to turn against their great leader, my father bullied them into acting.

"I remember the day when Damas was banished to the Wasteland. Just before he was taken to the drop ship, he came to me and told me some words I'll never forget. 'Don't be like your father,' he told me, 'You must take my advice and not fall to the corruption of power. You can do something to make things better.'

"And that's what I've been striving to do ever since. Before he was taken away, I immediately understood what he said. My father's tyrannical rule over the city would not bring greatness, and I quickly handed him a beacon so I could find him. From that day on, as my father banished more and more people to the Wasteland, they banded together and built Spargus to survive out in the desert. By that time I had enough authority in the Krimzon Guard to go where I wanted, and I frequently flew out to the Wasteland to see how they were going. My visits became less frequent as I was caught up in the war effort and made to fight against the Metal Heads. But when you arrived, Jak, things got extremely chaotic. During the years you were in prison, the Underground was formed with help from me, The Shadow, and Torn who'd just recently left the forces.

"Of course I had to remain adamant and loyal to my father while still aiding the Underground in their struggle. I was caught in a cross-fire, and I had to be exceptionally careful of what I said. Soon, we found Damas' child and took him in to protect him. Then when you escaped from prison, Jak, all our objectives got intermingled; the rest of the story you know about."

This information shone new light on Jak's feelings, now that he knew how Ashelin had helped him in his survival in the Wasteland. It was a deep secret that had been kept hidden from him for almost a year now, but now he knew the truth. The story had its impact on Torn as well. During their lives in the Krimzon Guard, they'd developed a somewhat reticent and precarious relationship, which was why she'd chosen to help him in the Underground. This would also have answered Jak's other question about how the two had been connected in the past. But Torn now knew that it wasn't only her feelings towards him that had compelled her to help him secretly fight against the Baron, but also to uphold the wish of Damas, who'd been wise when it came to the usage of power. The Baron wasn't a very moral man, and also a bit of a megalomaniac.

"So you knew all this time?" asked Jak, now feeling as if she'd been keeping something from him.

"I had no way of knowing that you and Damas were father and son," she explained, "And since you hated my father for what he did to you in prison, I thought it would not be wise to bring it up. Do you understand, Jak? I'm very sorry for everything that's happened to you."

Even though a cosmic amount of emotions were racing through his mind, Jak found it within himself to forgive her. After all, there was nothing that could be done about it now, since they had both lost their fathers, and they had a much more serious condition on their hands right now.

Suddenly, the familiar flash and bang occurred again, and everyone in the room turned to look out the window, to see yet another squadron of silver jets.

"This is it!" said Ashelin, and she took the tracking device from the scientist and handed it to Jak, "You've only got one chance, Jak. Make sure it counts."

Jak took the device, and silently but quickly left the room. Ashelin felt a little guilty after having explained the truth to him, but she knew that they shouldn't let it bring them down. They had a war to fight. The scientist also left the room to return to his lab, leaving Torn and Ashelin alone together.

"Torn, when this battle is over, I want you to begin your mission into the mountains. Take some fresh troops and some Hellcats and find the drill platform. If it's still operational, I want a second base constructed there as quickly as possible."

Torn was still trying to come to terms with what she'd explained earlier. He now felt completely different towards his whole Underground movement. But then he realised that it didn't matter anymore. Their task was complete; they'd overthrown the Baron and now had a more competent leader on the throne. There'd been no further need of the Underground since the defeat of the Metal Head leader, and he was now the commander of the Freedom League, with much greater responsibilities.

"What do you want me to do in the mean time?" he asked.

"You can stay here and help me relay orders to the troops," she answered, "Though they're probably now more than capable of defending the city by themselves, they'll need our support."

Torn took control of the communications while Ashelin positioned herself by the window to watch the battle unfurl.

Meanwhile, Jak was downstairs boarding his cruiser, ready for battle. He looked around for a box of missiles and found one labelled 'Non-explosive'. He removed it and managed to easily snap the device onto the head of the missile, which he then loaded into his missile deck, and found that it fitted perfectly. Now he flipped on the ignition and launched through the ceiling hatch into the sky.

He flew past Ashelin's window to signify he was on his way, and Ashelin took note of it.

"OK Jak," said Torn through the radio, "You know what to do. Find a target and get that device planted."

Jak replied, "Just keep the flak low so I can concentrate!"

Jak wasn't the only friendly flier in the air, as several more Freedom Guards had taken to the sky as well, while all other available men were ground based and operating the defensive guns. Jak himself found it difficult to keep a bead on a target, as many were moving around much too quickly while others were getting shot down before he could fire his shot. He was getting frustrated.

Ashelin was getting worried. "Tell him to hurry!"

"Jak, get a move on! They're gonna retreat soon if they take any more losses!" Torn barked into the radio.

"I'm trying, alright!" Jak answered, "Take the flak down!"

Torn relayed another order to his men, "Ground units, cease fire!"

The amount of fire heading upwards died down, and Jak suddenly found the skies much clearer. He then found a jet that was hanging back and keeping a distance from the Hellcats, and he decided that that was the one he'd go for. He zeroed in on the isolated craft, coming in directly behind it and keeping it in his sights at all times. The jet pilot knew he was being followed and made evasive manoeuvres.

"Oh no you don't!" said Jak, and flew after him furiously. He stayed in line and followed his every movement, trying desperately to keep up and waiting for the perfect moment to fire. Then the jet swooped upwards and Jak followed. But then it unexpectedly turned sharply on the spot to face downwards again.

"Big mistake!" said Jak, and saw his chance as the jet remained stationary during its turn, and fired his missile. It made contact with the jet's wing, and as the empty missile bounced off and fell away to earth, he could see the metal device stick and activate, emitting a frequent white light. A signal immediately came up on Torn's radar screen.

"He's done it!" said Ashelin, now feeling a huge sense of success.

"Jak! You got him!" said Torn through his radio, "Well done!" Then he relayed a message to the rest of his troops. "Don't shoot that jet! Concentrate on the others!"

The troops obeyed and moved away to engage the other jets, leaving the recently tagged one alone. Jak too moved away, and since he had no more missiles, he returned to the hangar, satisfied that his mission was complete. During that time, six more jets were shot down, and the remaining ones vanished back to their city. Repair teams were dispatched all over the city to put out fires and survey damage. This meant much more cleaning up to be done and disposing of the destroyed jets that littered the city.

When Jak returned to the Freedom League Headquarters, Torn and Ashelin were keenly examining the radar scopes. They'd followed the tagged jet's signal until it had disappeared beyond the ranges of their most advanced long range scanners.

"Jak, you did a great job!" said Ashelin when he entered.

"You got a location of the enemy city then?" he asked.

"We've lost the signal for now," she explained, "But that device is designed to emit its signal for hundreds of kilometres. We'll hear from it again soon, once the signal's had some time to travel the distance."

Jak took a seat and tried to relax. Chasing that jet had been stressful work, and he needed some time for his strength and his energy to return to him. He knew exactly where he would go next; Daxter's pub. He needed a drink after all that excitement.

Torn began to make notes as he examined the screen, and read the information streaming in from different parts of the city. Once again, they'd suffered few casualties and had come off better than their enemies.

"They must be running out of men by now," he said, "They can't keep coming at us like this."

"I think you're right, Torn," said Jak.

"They're definitely weakening, their attacks are becoming less frequent," said Ashelin, "We'd better strike soon. Torn, it's time for you to head into the mountains and set the foundations for our second base. I'll take over the monitors."

"I think I'll head to the Naughty Ottsel," said Jak, "I need a drink."

"You deserved it," replied Torn.

Fifteen minutes later, Jak was in the Naughty Ottsel, sitting at the bar table with a cool drink in his hand. He'd been trying to relax for a while now, but he kept thinking back to the momentous task he'd just achieved. What he'd done may well have just turned the tide of the war in their favour. Though of course, it was also partially to do with the dwindling enemy assaults.

But what he found even more astonishing was that Daxter had actually finished clearing up the place. It had taken him several weeks to get this far, but it was finally starting to look more like it had done when Krew was still the proprietor; except more cheery, less dark and smoky, and with less Metal Heads hanging on the walls. Daxter himself was napping on one of the couches in the corner of the room, and Jak wasn't even sure he was aware that he'd entered. He'd just helped himself to a drink. And where was Tess? It wasn't like Daxter to be somewhere without her, unless of course he'd forced him to come somewhere with him.

Anyway, he tried not to think about it and just focussed on relaxing and drinking.

He looked around at the newly cleaned bar. He thought back to the day he'd first entered this room, when he was delivering that eco ore to Krew. He wondered what Krew had been actually planning to do with it, but it was most probable that he was going to sell it for a huge profit. It was also on that day when he first met Sig, and they embarked on their first mission together over at the pumping station. That part of the city was now inaccessible, but it was always a favourite place of his to go to. It reminded him of Sentinel Beach back in the old world. He wanted to head there again some time with Sig to clear out all the Metal Heads, just like the old days.

Daxter stirred in his sleep which distracted Jak a little. He turned and looked to see Daxter roll over on the couch and then slip off onto the floor. Strangely enough, Daxter remained asleep. 'He must have drunk a little too much,' thought Jak.

Then Tess entered through the doorway, carrying what appeared to be some kind of book. When she saw Jak there with Daxter nowhere in sight, she looked a little puzzled.

"Where's Daxy?" she asked.

Jak nodded towards the table under which Daxter was hiding. Tess looked over and saw him, and knew instantly that he'd drunk too much. "That was meant for both of us," she sighed.

Jak then took note of the empty beer glasses on the table.

But Daxter stirred and slowly came to his senses. He sat up, looked around and was unable to recall why he was under the table. "Whum I doin' 'ere?" he said in a slurred voice. Then the only explanation he could think of popped into his head. "Ahh crap! Jaak, ya beat me!" He thought he'd lost a drinking contest and Jak had drunk him under the table, as that was where he clearly was right now.

"I donno how ya do it buddy, but yer still standin' on yer own fff...fffeet…"

Daxter then made an amusing attempt to get up, but he fell on his back again.

Tess was upset that he'd ruined what was supposed to be their special night together. "I'd better get him to bed," she said, "Doesn't look like he'll last the rest of the day like this…"

As she approached him, Daxter immediately shot a hazy look at her, and then grinned madly. "Heeeheee! Come 'ere babezzz!" he giggled, and then immediately pulled her to himself and planted an enormous wet snog all over her face, while at the same time making a clumsy attempt to remove her shirt.

"Sheesh Daxy! How much did you drink? You can't get this drunk on just two beers!"

Daxter stopped immediately what he was doing and his face fell completely blank, then his mouth dropped open and his eyes crossed and half closed. He tried to speak, but what he said no one will ever know. Then he flopped over Tess' shoulder in a daze.

"Let me help," said Jak, and he got up, reached down and lifted up Daxter by his tail. Through his blurred vision and pulsing mind, Daxter believed he was being abducted by what he thought to be a wiggly octopus that was going to take him back to his cave and ravage him throughout the remainder of the afternoon. He feebly clawed at Jak's arm in an attempt to break free.

Jak carried him off to his room and dropped him on his bed. By then he'd passed out again, and Jak left him atop the blankets and returned to the main bar room.

"You'll want to keep an eye on him," Jak advised Tess, "He's probably going to-"

Jak was cut off by the awful sounds of Daxter throwing up all over the bed. Jak shrugged and now knew that there was no need to finish the sentence.

"I can't look after him by myself," Tess answered, "He can be a real handful sometimes."

"Don't I know it!" replied Jak, "I'll stay and help. I've got nothing to do right now. Ashelin gave me the day off."  
"Do heroes get days off?"

Jak hummed to himself in a slightly amused manner. "Not really…"


	15. Edifice

Jak, Ashelin, Torn and Olto stood around the hill, looking at the large collapse of mud. Now that some of it had slid off to the bottom, they could see that this hill wasn't what it appeared to be. Instead of damp earth, underneath the mud was a grimy, smooth piece of orange material. It looked metallic, and despite having spent the previous day and possibly longer underneath the wet and boggy mud, had not rusted.

This was by no means a hill. There was something underneath here, and they wanted to find out exactly what it could be.

"What do you think it is?" asked Torn.

Nobody had a clue, except Jak who was standing silently at the back. He knew what it was, but he was afraid to say it.

"Come on, let's unearth it!" said Olto, and all of them found a suitable foothold and began to scrape away the rest of the mud.

They worked their way around the uncovered piece of metal and expanded further outwards. As more and more filth came away in their hands, the object revealed itself further, and Jak's suspicions were confirmed as he recognised what he was looking at. Though he still hadn't the courage to tell the others.

Olto removed a heavy clump of mud and tossed it aside as he uncovered something new.

"Guys, get over here and look at this!" he shouted, and the others made their way over to him as fast as they could. What Olto had found was a string of Precursor text, carved deeply into the orange metal. There were only a few letters they could make out clearly, as the others were filled in with mud. He tried to scratch some of it out to make reading clearer, and succeeded to some extent, but the few letters they'd found could make no sense until they'd uncovered more.

"Let's dig around here," said Ashelin, and they returned to their work. They found as they removed more dirt that the letters curved around in a circular shape, around some kind of spherical object that was sticking out of the side. Removing more of the dirt revealed that it was a round convex lump, seemingly embedded into the orange metal around it. The text that encompassed it around the edge read to them as some kind of riddle, but they couldn't make complete sense of it and parts were completely filled in with mud that had set in, and was difficult to scrape out.

"What do you think this is?" asked Ashelin.

Jak finally brought himself to speak up. "It's a Precursor artefact," he said, and everyone immediately looked at him. "Back in the old world before I came here, there were things like this to be found everywhere. I remember when Daxter and I always headed down to the beach in the evenings, and we'd often find little gadgets buried in the sand that hadn't worked in years. We'd take them straight back to Keira and she'd get them working again by the next morning. I remember the time when we accidentally discovered two enormous statues carved into a cliff face. But that was the limit of our findings."

"And when the Metal Heads came," said Torn, "They destroyed all the Precursor artefacts they could find."

Jak nodded.

"So that's why there's so few around these days!" said Olto.

"So what's this thing then?" asked Ashelin.

Jak shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen something like this before."

That brought everyone's hopes down. "But let's keep digging," he continued, "Maybe if we unearth the rest it'll offer us some clues."

They continued their work, and began to uncover even more of the strange Precursor structure. They moved around the edges, scraping down the mud and revealing even more orange metal. They found three more strange circular devices embedded into the side of it, and even after finding these, were still unsure of what they were actually for.

Soon, all but the very top of the structure was uncovered, and it revealed itself to be some kind of dome. It appeared to be firmly rooted to the ground, which threw off their suspicions of it being some kind of vehicle to get them off the island. They probably wouldn't have been able to pilot it anyway.

The sides of it were very smooth, and the only lumps were the four strange devices. It was made completely out of one piece of metal; there were no rivets or visible signs of adhesion at all, and the whole thing looked very sinister in the middle of the forest surrounded by mud.

Just the mere sight of it filled Jak's mind with memories of the old world. He really missed the times when you could find mysterious objects such as this anywhere, and you could pick them up and take them home if they were small enough, or climb all over it for a bit of fun and adventure if it was too big to move.

He sighed, and Ashelin sensed his emotions.

"Jak, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing…" said Jak, "It's just such a pity that the Metal Heads destroyed all of these wonderful Precursor items. And they've become increasingly hard to find over the years, and now we've found one, unspoiled and undiscovered. The Metal Heads never came here."

"This is a relic!" said Olto, "A relic of our ancient past when the Precursors freely roamed the world."

"But what's on the top?" Torn asked.

Their eyes suddenly fixated atop the structure, which was still covered in mud and sparse grass. The beacon and the berry bush remained on top, undisturbed. Should they remove them just to see what was on the top underneath them? If they took out the berry bush, that would mean there would only be a limited number of berries left, and they'd be unable to get any more after that. As for the beacon, that still wasn't finished, and they'd have to move it down from the top along with all their tools and materials.

"Let's not take it down just yet," said Torn, "Let's finish the beacon first, and then try and figure out what these strange nodules are on the side of this thing. It could prove quite useful, you never know."

They all agreed with Torn's idea, and then took a break from all their mud-removing. First they all went and washed their hands in the sea, and then Jak and Ashelin stayed back at the camp whilst Torn and Olto went to finish work on the beacon. It was of course much more difficult now to climb to the top once the mud had been removed. Steep Precursor metal that was smooth and slippery enough to use as a slide in a child's playground made havoc upon ascending what was once a grassy hill, but at least going back down again was something to look forward to.

As Olto and Torn were atop the last earthy part of the hill right on the summit, their thoughts continued to plague them as to what this thing they were perched atop could possibly be. What was its purpose and why was it here? Even more intriguingly, was there something inside it?

"What do you think, Olto?" asked Torn.

Olto looked up, breaking his concentration. "What do I think about what?"

"What do you think? The Precursor object!"

"Oh right," replied Olto, "I actually have no idea. I've never seen anything like this before. I thought Jak would know but he doesn't. What about you?"

Torn didn't have much of a clue either. That was a bit of a waste of a conversation really.

Back at the shelter, the same conversation was taking place between Jak and Ashelin, but she was getting closer to an answer than the other two.

"Back in the old world," began Jak, "Precursor artefacts littered the world, as I've already mentioned. Sometimes during our adventures, Daxter and I would come across old buildings or vehicles or machines that no one had seen or operated in years. I could use eco to activate some of them and get them working again, cracking the mystery behind them. I was the only person in the village who could channel eco effectively, apart from the sages though of course. According to them, I had a unique talent for it. If there was enough eco for me here, I could probably try and activate it, but there isn't any."

"My gun's powered by eco," said Ashelin.

"Won't work," explained Jak, "We're not talking about small cartridge-amounts of eco. There used to be vents all over the world from which eco would constantly erupt. I could walk into them and channel all that eco through me and use it to explore greater areas of the world."

Ashelin was surprised at what Jak was describing. Eco channellers were rare enough in the old world, but now they were practically impossible to find. There just wasn't enough eco left for everyone to use, and nobody had the skills to handle it effectively. Plus, there were no amounts of eco great enough for one person to use all at once. The government of Haven City knew this, and instilled a sensible ration amongst the civilians so nobody used too much. But their supplies were slowly refilling now that they didn't have to constantly provide huge shipments to the Metal Heads, like they'd done during the Baron's reign.

"Wow," said Ashelin, "I never knew that much eco used to flow freely around the world!"

"It ran through the entire planet," said Jak, "Keira once told me there was an old Precursor pipeline that ran underground, and came up through the ground in vents, like I mentioned. We never found much of the pipeline, but I assume there were sets that went from one end of the world to the other. But in our days of adventure, Daxter and I found several huge switches that turned on many closed vents all over the world, so I'm probably right about it running through the planet."

"But how much is left of it?" asked Ashelin, "How much did the Metal Heads destroy?"

"That was something I hoped you could answer," said Jak, "I was only here at the end of the war, remember? I wasn't here for the greater part of it in between."

"Oh yeah, true," said Ashelin.

An intermediate silence fell between them, but then Jak thought that it was time to tell her about his experience last night.

"Ashelin..." he began, thinking of the best possible way to put his experience into words, "Something strange happened last night..."

Ashelin's heart leapt in her chest. Did Jak somehow know about what she did?

"I dreamt last night that I was in Haven City again, and I know this might sound crazy, but I think I may have spoken to Keira in it."

Ashelin was relieved that Jak wasn't speaking about what she'd thought he would, but was now a little bemused by what he actually was saying. "You mean you dreamt about talking with Keira?"

"Yes, but I mean... Look, I knew I was dreaming. I could control my movements and move around at will..."

Ashelin was confused. As far as she knew, she could never control herself in a dream. It was like watching yourself in a film and you could do nothing about what was happening.

"Wow! I didn't know that was possible. How'd you do it?"

"I don't know," answered Jak, "I just remembered that I was stuck here and couldn't possibly be in the city, and I knew I was dreaming."

Ashelin was speechless, and she just sat there in awe and listened to what Jak had to say next.

"Then I found Keira, but she was different than she was in any other dreams I've seen her in. She acted much more logically and realistically, and made much more sense."

Ashelin knew what he was talking about here, because she remembered in dreams where nothing much at all made sense and nobody in the dream seemed rational or sensible.

"I spoke with her and told her that I was in a dream state, and told her that I was stuck on this island with you and Torn and Olto. I thought that maybe I could tell her where we were and she could alert everyone back in the city."

"But Jak, it was just a dream," said Ashelin, "Dreams aren't real, they're just parts of your imagination."

"I'm not so sure about it," said Jak, "This seemed so real and everything about her seemed so accurate and realistic."

"Jak, you can't meet up with other people in dreams," said Ashelin, "It just can't be done!"

"How can you prove that?" asked Jak.

Ashelin couldn't give an answer to that.

"Have you ever had a dream before where you saw or did something, and then something similar happened in real life? Or have you ever talked to someone in a dream and then spoken with them in real life and they knew what you were talking about? Have you ever seen or made anything happen like this you couldn't explain?"

Ashelin thought back. "There was one time when I was a little girl and I dreamed about being with my father, and he told me his plan to help the city. Then the next day he put that exact plan into action in real life. He'd never told anyone his plan and kept it top secret. But I knew about it before he'd done it."

"You see?" said Jak, "It can happen. It's even happened to you."

"So you think you met up with the real Keira in your dream, and got the message to her real life self?"

"I think so," said Jak, "You had to be there to see how real it was, I can't describe it enough. I doubted it myself when I first thought about it in the dream, but it was just crazy enough to try. I think it may have worked."

To this, Ashelin could think of nothing to say. Her mind was overwhelmed by what they'd just discussed. Could it be that throughout all time, people could really meet each other in dreams? An enormous sense of wonder came over her, and she felt a great feeling of euphoria and shock, and another feeling she couldn't quite recognise. Jak was feeling a range of emotions too, not just from his dream experience, but also from sharing it with someone else and actually getting Ashelin to understand and agree with him. The two of them sat quietly for almost a minute, thinking over and revelling in the discovery they'd just made.

"Maybe Keira's getting a rescue team together right now," said Jak.

"Did you tell them exactly where we are?" asked Ashelin.

"No, because we don't even know that, do we? I just said we were stuck on an island in the middle of the ocean."

"Well, we can at least hope this worked perhaps," said Ashelin, "If you believe it worked, then maybe that'll help us. Have you told the others yet?"

"No, you're the first I've told," said Jak, "Don't think they'll quite grasp it, if you ask me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Torn's that kind of guy who always has his head in the real world. I don't think he cares for what's going on in the land of dreams, even when it's as astounding as this."

"What about Olto?"

"I think we'd best leave him to his own imagination," said Ashelin, "He seems to be happily keeping himself satisfied with his 'shell-scapes' and his new creative side of life."

"So we'll just keep it a secret between us?"

"Just the two of us."

A great new sense overwhelmed both of them, pressed on by the fact that they now had something between them that no one else could know about. It was a good feeling, like being in possession of an exquisite item that would cause irreparable damage if anyone else ever found out about it. It was almost fun in a way, because it would be interesting to see how long they could keep it from Torn and Olto, even though it was a relatively easy task to do.

Back at the hill, Torn and Olto were still working on the beacon. They were getting very close to the end of their construction, and the beacon was growing in size every day. Because of Torn's increasing attention and the combined efforts of all four of them together, it had grown beyond its original height in only a few days since its destruction in the storm.

"We need more wood," said Torn, as they were now nearly at the bottom of their supplies.

"Don't worry, I'm on it," replied Olto, and he crawled over the remains of the grass and slid down the side of the Precursor mound head first. "Weeeeeeee!" he shouted as he went, and then came to halt at the bottom in the dry mud.

Torn couldn't help chuckling to himself. Olto got back to his feet and ventured into the forest to gather more wood for them. He knew exactly what sort of wood was needed, and exactly where he would find it.

Torn began humming to himself atop the hill, it was one of his favourite tunes that he used to listen to often during his early days in the Underground. It had been a volatile time for him, having just recently deserted the Krimzon forces and being branded a traitor by his comrades and his subordinates. The tune reminded him of dark times in his past, and he hadn't listened to it for a long time since then.

Very soon, Olto returned with the wood, and called up to Torn. "Got it!"

He could see what was going to happen next. Olto made an attempt to climb up the hill and get back to the workstation, but it was no easy task on the smooth Precursor metal and with his arms full of branches. He lost his footing and careened back down to the bottom, sending branches of wood flying in all directions.

"That was a bit unwise," he said to himself as he got back to his feet.

"Throw the branches up one by one," said Torn, "Then try and get up yourself."

Using this advice, Olto was able to succeed, and Torn pulled him up the rest of the way once he was almost to the top. They chuckled with each other about his hilarious fall for a few seconds, before Torn said, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Olto didn't answer, but kept chuckling. But then he stopped and the light expression fell from his face to be replaced by a grimace. He clutched one hand to his stomach and made a funny little groaning sound.

"What's wrong?" asked Torn, "Did you hurt yourself in the fall?"

"No," replied Olto, "I feel a bit uneasy."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean I feel ill," said Olto, "I've been getting these strange stomach cramps periodically over the past few days, and I've never felt anything like it before."

"Why didn't you tell us anything?" asked Torn.

"I didn't want to worry you at all," he replied, "We're in a bad enough situation already without me making it worse for you."

"Don't be stupid," said Torn, "We're in this together, and we'll do anything to make sure we all get out of this alive. This beacon is going to work, and I think Ashelin was talking about building a boat as well. We'll get out of this no matter what. You go back to the camp and get some rest, I'll finish off here. Actually, send Jak over, I could use an extra set of hands with these branches."

"OK, thanks Torn," said Olto and got up to leave. He went down the slope, less dramatically than last time, and made his way back through the trees towards the shore. Torn watched him as he went, feeling sorry that he was ill while being stuck here miles away from any decent health care.

Olto returned to the camp where Ashelin was now sitting cooking another crab on the fire and Jak could be seen out in the shallow water of the sea. Ashelin looked up and saw Olto.

"Hey," she said and waved with her free hand, "What's up?"

"I'm feeling a bit weird," he explained, "I don't know what it is, but I've been feeling it a lot lately. It feels like my stomach's full of sharp needles that are stretching to get out."

Ashelin was upset. "You'd better lie down; I'll get the first aid kit." She knew there was a little bit of all-purpose medicine in there that had survived the crash, and even though it wasn't that powerful, it was all they had, so it was worth a go. Olto lay down under the shelter and looked at the roof. He was greeted by the friendly and joyful sight of one of his shell montages, which cheered him up a little bit.

Ashelin looked after him and made sure he rested for a little while, until Jak returned with a handful of seaweed.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Ashelin, a little bewildered. However, Jak also had to figure that out as well.

"Jak, Torn wants you to help with the beacon," said Olto.

"Hmm," said Jak, still pondering the uses of the seaweed, "Alright then, I'll start heading that way." He set off into the jungle, while Ashelin maintained a watch over Olto.

"Do you want some food?" she asked.

"Yeah, fruit please." He was handed one of the round fruits from their collection. "And some water."

Ashelin headed over to where the water collector stood, and said as she retrieved some, "This was a great idea of yours to build this."

"I'm glad you like it," said Olto.

Ashelin returned with the water and Olto drank a little, and it improved his feelings.  
"Do you ever think we'll see the city again?" he asked.

"Of course we will," replied Ashelin, "We'll find a way off this island. The beacon's nearly finished, and even if that doesn't work we can still build a boat. And there might already be a rescue team on its way."

"I hope so; I don't think I can stand being on this island for much longer. I'm getting bored with it all. I want to get back and see my family again, and go back to normal living."

"I don't think it's so bad here," said Ashelin, "I think this place is very nice. It's calm, relaxing, and much quieter than the usual busy city life that we have to constantly deal with."

"Yes I agree with that," said Olto, "It was nice to begin with, but now I'm growing tired of it. Besides, what about the Precursor Mountain Temple? It's similar to this place isn't it?"

"Actually, no it isn't," replied Ashelin, "There were lots of Metal Heads there and probably still are, the ones that are left. Plus, it's kind of difficult to get to. And even if you could find a quiet corner to relax in, you'd still hear the noise of the city over the rocks."

"Oh well, I've never actually been in there, so who am I to judge what it's like?"

They were both quiet for a moment before Olto then said, "What if there is no more city?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what if the city couldn't cope without us. For all we know the city could be lying in ruins right now. Without Torn's leadership and yours, what if the city failed to fight and lost the war?"

"I'm sure they're coping well without us," said Ashelin, "I promise you that when we return, you'll still have a house to go to and you'll still be able to see your family."

Olto felt reassured by Ashelin's words, and then settled down for a bit while she continued to stoke the fire. Even though there was no way she could ensure her promise was true, she was pleased that it made Olto feel a little better.

The afternoon was now well underway, and the sun was getting low in the sky by the time the beacon was finished with Jak's assistance. It now stood tall and proud atop the hill and Torn stood back to admire his work. It was finally finished after all this time.

He decided to call it a day, and returned to the camp with Jak. "Now we've got to find a way of lighting it," he said.

"I think we should attempt to solve the mystery of the Precursor structure first," said Jak.

"What can we do to solve it?" asked Torn.

"We'll see," said Jak, "We'll see…" He had a feeling in his mind about it, and thought that he may indeed get closer to finding out what it was if he had some more time to think about it. He smiled to himself.


	16. The Platform

Torn was now approaching the drill platform in the mountains with a troop of cruisers behind him. He was unsure of what to expect upon arriving, as no one had been there since the civil war.

As he peered through the icy mist of the mountains, he saw his goal. Ahead of him, the dark outline of the drill platform loomed into sight, still clinging to the sides of the mountains. Though whenever he'd come here in the past, he was always greeted by the heavy hum of the drill platform's great machinery ploughing into the rocks. But all he could hear now was the engines of the Hellcats they were flying in. The drill platform had shut down.

"Squad, move in," he ordered, "Follow my lead."

He drove forwards and approached a flat-looking area, coming in to land. Though the floor was covered in debris, he knew it wouldn't pose a problem. He touched down, and his squad did the same all around him. Their engines switched off and they all exited their vehicles.

It was cold in the mountains, and mist hung in the air like a dense curtain, obscuring their view of their surroundings – or hiding them from whatever else may be lurking here. Everyone shivered. They could feel the frozen metal they were standing on through their boots, and there was no wind.

Torn did his best to look for a way to go through the mist. "Split up and explore," he ordered, "Groups of two. We need to look around here and search for any machinery that still works, and any resources we can find. Keep an eye out, we don't know what else may be hiding here."

The squad immediately broke off into groups and began exploring, moving carefully through the fog. They knew this area would be unsafe, and there were vast areas here where there was no ground. One wrong step could result in a fatal fall into the clouded abyss below.

"You two, come with me," said Torn to the two soldiers closest to him.

They set off in the direction of what Torn thought to be the way in to the main building structure.

As they explored through the mist, they eventually came upon a heavy metal door that lay flat on the ground, mangled and dented out of shape. They stepped over it and entered the doorway ahead of them, into a small square room which immediately descended. They were in a lift shaft which was still working.

It took them down into a dark room that had half of the floor missing and pieces of machinery everywhere. There was nothing in here that was working; it had all been shut down.

What followed throughout the next couple of rooms was more of the same, until they came to another working lift shaft, which took them up into another room. This one was bigger than the rest, and had no roof. It was filled with mist, but they could make out some dented computer terminals in the centre of the room. Beyond that, all they could see was wreckage, and it blocked their path so they couldn't reach the other side of the room. But to the left they could make it to a window.

Torn looked out but to no avail. The fog was too thick to make out any details of what he was looking at. All he could see were the dimmed beams of his troops' searchlights. But then he suddenly remembered something. Hadn't Jak once come here to sabotage the control room? That would explain why the platform was no longer working, and why this place was such a mess. It put his mind at ease to finally know what had caused this much damage, but that didn't mean the place was safe.

Meanwhile, two soldiers had walked over to a burnt-out generator to check for any signs of life or any fuel that may be left in it. There was none. They then climbed a slope to reach higher ground, and came upon a metal grated bridge that extended into the fog ahead of them, hiding sight of their destination.

"Let's go," said the one at the front.

"Will that thing hold?" asked the other.

The first soldier stamped his foot hard on the first step of the bridge, and nothing happened. "It's safe," he said, and proceeded forward. The other followed.

The bridge was longer than they'd expected. But they knew they couldn't be far from the end now. The second soldier looked down into the ominous mist below him, and wondered how high up they were. It was probably best that he didn't know, as he wasn't particularly fond of heights. For once he was thankful of the mist.

But then he heard a low clumping noise, and he wasn't sure how far away it was, or from which direction it had come. "Was that you?" he asked his companion.

"Was what me?"

Another heavy clump sounded. "That."

"No…"

They both stopped in their tracks and remained silent. More clumps sounded, and soon they felt the bridge vibrate under their feet with each one. They were sure of where it was coming from now.

"Behind us!" said the second soldier, and span around on the spot, pointing his gun into the mist in the direction they'd come. They could see nothing, but the clumps kept coming and the bridge vibrated more. They stood still as statues, frozen to the bridge in fear. What was coming? Neither of them so much as breathed.

Then the clumping stopped, and was replaced by a new sound, a long droning metallic scraping noise that grew louder. The first soldier could tell the sound was coming from the other direction, and he turned to face whatever came looming out of the mist. They were stuck with nowhere to flee. They both stood back to back, waiting for whatever was making those noises to show themselves, guns at the ready.

Then the first soldier saw it. Something dark and small came sliding towards him across the bridge, bringing with it the dull metallic scraping sound. As it grew closer, he could see that it was in fact a rusty barrel of old eco, rolling gradually towards him across the bridge. He cautiously out-stretched a leg and put his foot against it to stop it rolling when it came close enough.

"It's an eco barrel," he whispered to his companion.

"What's that doing here?" replied the other.

The first soldier raised his gun and pointed it ahead of him, trying to get a glimpse of whatever it was that had rolled that barrel. He could still see nothing through the mist, but there were chills in his spine brought on by the fact that he may now be staring face to face with his unseen adversary. Nothing came, and there were no sounds to be heard anymore.

Nothing came from the other direction either, and it now appeared that whatever had been stalking them had moved off somewhere else. Either that or it was quietly waiting for them at the end of the bridge, ready to launch its attack as soon as they returned.

But they could do nothing in the position they were currently in. "I vote we move back," suggested one of the troops.

"Can't argue with you there," replied the other.

"Remember, if you see anything hostile, don't be afraid to open fire."

The guard who'd had the eco barrel roll at him picked it up under his arm. No point wasting it. Slowly, they began to head back the way they'd come. One of them kept his eyes forward to see where they were heading, while the other kept an eye out in the opposite direction, covering their backs. They arrived back at their starting end of the bridge to find nothing, much to their relief. However, they knew they had to report this incident back to Torn. There was definitely something here hiding in the mist, and until they knew exactly what it was, the Drill Platform must be declared unsafe.

They back-tracked, remembering their path back to where their cruisers were parked. Just as they arrived, another team of troops returned, explaining that they'd just investigated one of the interior work rooms, and had found nothing out of the ordinary. Then the original two soldiers explained their experience on the bridge, and that there may be something lurking around here.

Back in the control tower, Torn and his two men had finished inspecting the machinery, and headed back down to their cruisers. Torn had decided that they would go through with establishing their base up here. Of course they'd have to clean up a lot and they wouldn't be able to use the machinery here ever again, but they could manage perfectly well on their own, as long as they brought their equipment with them.

Back outside again, Torn encountered the two soldiers, who hurriedly informed him of their situation.

Torn decided that it was not worth the risk to bring in their supplies just yet until they'd successfully swept the whole area for any unfriendly activity. The mist was beginning to lift now, and they all waited for the rest of their team to return to their location.

Some of the other soldiers reported similar incidents also, and that they'd heard disturbances in the fog and one of them even said he'd seen something, though it had moved too quickly for him to distinguish what it may have been.

When everyone was finally ready and the visibility had increased greatly, Torn gave his new orders. "There is definitely something hiding around here. We don't know what it is or how dangerous it may be, but we must find out before we bring in our supplies. I want us to split into two groups and search the entire place. Leave nothing ignored and don't stop until we find it. Move out!"

Everyone immediately shot off in two different directions, combing the entire platform for whatever it was that was hiding there. One half of the force, consisting of nine Freedom Guards, headed off back towards the bridge where the mysterious event had occurred, headed by the two who'd experienced it. The other group was made of nine Guards plus Torn, who moved into the old control rooms. They were unsure of what to find, but Torn had a feeling that it might be Metal Heads, though he'd never seen them acting so deviously before. It wasn't like them to be sneaking around like this.

As the fog got lighter and cleared up, the setting sunlight began to sink low behind the mountains. They knew they had to act quickly and find their adversary, as none of them wanted to be searching a place like this at night, without proper lighting. The platform had been left to decay after Jak had sabotaged the control centre, and all the lights that were designed to automatically switch on at darkness had burned out and were now useless. The Freedom troops were armed only with small flashlights and the spotlights on their cruisers, and that wasn't enough to support their work.

Their sweep was hurried and rushed, but with enough men on the job, it was thorough enough to provide a decent search of the area, including many of the dark hiding places that were presented to them all over the complex. At first it seemed to them that there was indeed nothing there, or it was in fact hiding from them and moving to a new location every time they moved their search onwards.

The teams searched the entire area in half an hour, and still had daylight when they'd finished. However their search had proved empty, as they'd found nothing. Though a few suspicious signs had kept them alert. There was one time when they'd trekked all the way to a dead end, and upon turning back, they came upon certain pieces of debris that had been moved or had disappeared entirely. They knew that something was definitely there, but it was too clever and kept itself hidden.

They could waste no more time. After rounding up the whole squad and reflecting on their actions, Torn concluded that even though there was some entity here, it was posing itself as more of an indirect nuisance than a threat. He decided to move forward with the plan, hoping that as long as they didn't bother whatever was here, hopefully it shouldn't bother them. But they'd have to stay on their toes at all times while here, as it may strike or suddenly decide to attack at any time.

Torn had a team of engineers and suppliers waiting for the go-ahead back at Haven City, and he gave them the signal to move in. With them they would bring floodlights, equipment, machinery, resources; everything they'd need to set up a temporary factory on the Drill Platform.

Within minutes of the signal going out, the shipments arrived and started unpacking. Torn had to leave the platform now and return to Haven City, but he stationed a few guards with the building team on the platform to keep an eye out for this enigmatic creature that was lurking here.

He boarded his cruiser with a few of his men and headed back to the city, relaying a message to Ashelin as he went.

"Ashelin, the mission's a success. We've set up a base on the Drill Platform!"

"That's great to hear, Torn," replied Ashelin, "I saw the construction team set off a short while ago. What did you find there?"

"Nothing much," answered Torn, "It's a mess over there, but it's all in a good enough condition to work in. But we believe there's something hiding there, and it was stalking some of our men."

"What is it?"

"We never found it," said Torn, "It knows every inch of the platform and remained elusive throughout our time there."

"Is it dangerous?" asked Ashelin.

"Unknown," replied Torn, "It never showed itself. Some of our men had close encounters, but no damage was caused. I think it's too busy following and observing us to cause any substantial harm. But then again we don't know how strong it is. Everyone back at the platform knows about it and they're alert at all times in case it does decide to come forward at some point. But we're hoping it'll leave us alone if we just ignore it."

"I hope so," said Ashelin, "This could really help us in the war effort, and it's vital that the enemy doesn't find out about it."

"They won't," Torn reassured her, "They're too focussed on attacking the city to even look at the mountains, let alone go there."

"Well let's hope it stays that way," said Ashelin, "Anyway, we need you back here as soon as possible. We've picked up the data from the tracking device, and we've got a location of the enemy's city."

Torn was overjoyed to hear this news. All he could bring himself to say was, "I'm coming!" before switching off the radio and rushing to join Ashelin back at command to see the results for himself.


	17. Lucidity

It was the middle of the night, and Jak, Torn, Olto and Ashelin were asleep under the shelter. Once again, the night was warm, and sleep had no trouble finding the four companions on the island. The sky was cloudless and dark, but was illuminated by many bright stars and the ever-present green sun that the plants favoured. There was almost no wind, and the sea was flat and calm and washed gently ashore on the sand, which was smooth and dry, and covered in the footprints of the four friends.

They had gone to sleep with heavy thoughts on their minds, thoughts of the mysterious Precursor structure that had always stood right under their oblivious noses. The structure that Torn had spent so much time on top of, building his beacon. The structure that both he and Jak were standing on when they saw Olto and Ashelin out in the sea, clinging to a piece of wreckage. The structure that had been hidden under a hill which propagated a distinct berry bush, which had given them nutrition during their time on the island. It was true that it had served an important part for them, and had influenced their time spent there. It had provided food, served as a look-out stand and a landmark, and was the highest point on the entire island, to act as a visible mount above the trees for the beacon.

But now it held another purpose – to mystify and captivate the minds of the four friends who'd lived around it for so long. It must have been over a month now since the battle which had resulted in the loss of their aircraft and likely many of their comrades who'd fought bravely in the war. This hill was in fact a hidden Precursor relic, untouched and undiscovered by the Metal Heads, and had stood silent and dominant out in the far reaches of the ocean for centuries.

But what was it for? This was one thing that was unknown. Jak, Haven City's most heroic and famous resident, had lived through an older time before the Metal Heads had warped the world with their chaos. He was no stranger to finding Precursor items, as they had once been so common that several new ones could be found every day. However, this structure on the island was something he'd never encountered before, and he was no closer to establishing exactly what it was than the other three. A few questions had entered his mind, such as how important was it to the Precursors? Why was it out in the middle of the ocean? Was there something inside it? Would they ever know for sure?

He was beginning to sound like Samos if you'd asked him, always questioning the history and heritage of the Precursors like the old man he was. But right now he was asleep and dreaming, under the sheltered roof of their little house.

In his dream he was in a place he didn't recognise, but he knew he must have been somewhere in the old world because there was so much greenery around, and far off in the distance he thought he could see the spires of Gol and Maia's citadel. He was standing in front of a big grey rock that bore writing close to the bottom. He read it, and it said 'Redo harsh yarn girl before fish explosion'. He had no idea what it meant, but he suddenly felt as if he should get away from the rock as fast as possible.

He sprinted off through the forest, knocking twigs and branches aside as he ran. Suddenly, he came across a part of the forest he thought he recognised. It all seemed very familiar to him, and then he knew he was on the island because he saw the lake where they picked up their fresh water. He bent down next to it and looked into the water. It was very dark, and he couldn't see the bottom clearly, but he could see his own reflection with vividness. He looked how he expected himself to look, except he had two horns atop his head like he had whenever he turned into his 'dark' form.

However, he thought nothing of it and thrust his hand into the water. He scrambled around beneath the surface looking for something he thought he'd find hidden in the lake. Then suddenly something grabbed hold of his hand hard, and dragged him in. He went under the water very smoothly with very little of a splash, and he flailed around underneath to try and wrench his arm free. But whatever it was that was holding onto him wouldn't let go, and tightened its grip even harder. Jak opened his eyes to get a look at the horrible thing that must be holding him, but he was surprised to see that it was Ashelin. Ashelin placed a finger over her lips to signify to him to be quiet for some reason. Jak thought he'd better obey, but then suddenly out of the shadows swam a very angry looking fish with a spear on the end of its nose. Before there was time to react, it charged towards them and speared them both on its nose. Jak felt a huge stinging pain in his side, and suddenly he woke up and found himself back on the island under the shelter.

"That was weird…" he said to himself quietly.

"You bet it was…" said Ashelin's voice next to him.

Jak shook himself when he heard this. He turned to look at Ashelin and she did the same to him. She seemed to have woken up at the same time he'd done. For a moment they stared at each other and said nothing.

"Did you just…" began Jak, unable to find the words.

"I think so…" said Ashelin.

They said nothing more, but they both immediately understood what had happened. It did in fact seem that they had both taken part in the same dream, and were fortunate enough to end it together and wake up at the same time to confirm it. This took back everything Ashelin had said earlier to Jak about not believing it. She was now converted after having an experience of her own.

Jak knew what this meant. "This is phenomenal!" he said, trying to contain his excitement and stay quiet at the same time.

"I know, I believe you now," said Ashelin.

"Let's see if we can do it again!" said Jak, "Let's get back to sleep and think about that dream, see if we can meet up again in it."

Ashelin was right behind him on that one, and they immediately lay back down again. They managed to regain sleep rather quickly, which was good to help them re-enter the dream state. As they drifted back into sleep, they both kept their minds focussed on what had happened in the previous dream and asserted themselves on achieving to get there again. Soon they discovered that they couldn't move an inch, so they lay in silence and then colours and patterns started forming in front of their eyes, and they could see an image slowly forming around them. They felt themselves step back into the dream world, and focussed on making the image in front of them clearer. They succeeded, and they were back on the island in their dreams.

Ashelin was now standing by the water's edge, and there was no fish anywhere to be seen. She looked back into the water and could see Jak rather comically thrashing around in it. Apparently he'd re-entered the dream back in the lake. Ashelin helped him out, and now they both stood together in the dream, totally conscious.

"Why did I fall back in the lake?" Jak asked himself, a little annoyed.

"Who cares?" said Ashelin, feeling a great sense of euphoria, "We did it! Is this for real?"

"Yeah, looks like we're both in the dream now," said Jak.

"Wow, this is amazing!" said Ashelin, "I didn't know this was even possible! I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first Jak, but now we're actually here, I feel great!"

"I know, let's have a look around," said Jak, and they walked away from the lake and through the trees.

"Everything seems so real!" said Ashelin, touching a leafed branch.

Jak himself was experimenting with the ground beneath his feet, which also felt very realistic.

They kept on walking until they got to the beach. The sand felt very cool and dry, and the sea was perfectly flat with no waves.

"Look at that!" said Jak, "Strange!"

"I want to go swimming!" said Ashelin, and she ran towards the water and jumped head first into the shallows. This time there was a decent splash, and Jak watched as Ashelin swam at an insanely high speed far out into the ocean, until she'd gone so far she couldn't be seen anymore. Jak felt a little worried, thinking he may have lost her, but then she returned. He saw her heading back towards land, spraying water high into the air as she came, and then she ran aground on the sand and even swam in it for some distance until she came to a halt at his feet, making a very amusing drilling sound and she ploughed across the beach.

"That was fun!" she said, getting back to her feet.

Jak was amazed. "OK then," he said, feeling he had to top Ashelin's swimming move, "Watch this!"

With that, he crouched down on the floor, and then boosted himself up into the sky. Higher and higher he went, zooming upwards like a rocket, through the clouds and up into the stars. Down below, Ashelin was looking up trying to see him through the hole in the clouds he'd created, but then he came back down again through that hole and landed just beside her on one toe. He gave her a look that said 'beat that then', but Ashelin just laughed.

"This is so much fun!" she said, before sprinting away from him into the trees.

"Oh no you don't!" said Jak and chased after her. What followed was an extremely fast chase through the trees, as Jak tried to catch Ashelin. They weaved in and out of trees and leapt over bushes and crashed through branches and leaves. Eventually they were just running around in large circles, feeling highly exhilarated and almost as if their feet were on fire. Then Jak hurled himself at Ashelin and crashed into her, knocking her clear off her feet and sending them both tumbling at a phenomenal rate over the ground and logs and plants, until they finally came to a halt on the floor. They just laughed, they'd felt no pain at all, and the whole experience was extraordinary.

Then they stopped laughing and looked at where they were. They were right in front of the hill, which was still covered in grass.

"Ah, remember that?" asked Ashelin.

"Yeah, let's climb it!" said Jak, and they made their way to the top. There was no beacon or berry bush at the summit, but instead there was only a great view of the surrounding ocean, which looked much different from real life. They stood staring at it for a moment, gazing at its majestic beauty.

"I know!" said Jak suddenly, then he bent down and grabbed a hold of the grass they were standing on, and yanked it upwards, tearing it from the ground with a great unzipping noise until he held it all proudly in his hand in one big clump. What he did next took Ashelin by surprise; he scrunched it up into a ball and then ate it.

Ashelin didn't know how to react to that, but Jak said reassuringly, "Hmm, that was quite nice."

Ashelin laughed again, and then looked down at her feet. The orange metal of the Precursor structure underneath the hill was now showing, but it provided no more of a clue as to what it was in the dream than it did in real life.

"Think we could try and solve its mystery here?" she asked.

"It's worth a shot," said Jak, but before they got to it, they jumped off and slid down the sloped metal, coming to a halt together on the ground. They walked all around the object several times, trying to deduce exactly what might be done about it. But it wasn't easy, as every time they came back to their starting position, some aspect of it had changed. The dream world was a bit unstable, and there was no way to make a proper hypothesis based on what they could see in front of them right now.

What Jak did notice though was that the strange round lumps on it had accurately represented themselves here in the dream. He thought that they just had to be for something, they must have some purpose. But what was it though? He got a deep sense that these things held the secret, and that he was very close to unlocking the mystery once he understood what these were for.

He tried to touch one but then his hand seemed to be magnetically pushed away from it. The same result happened with Ashelin. In fact everything in the dream was starting to go the exact opposite to the way they wanted it to go. The next thing they knew, they were rooted to the ground and couldn't move.

"What's happening?" asked Ashelin, trying to pick her feet up.

"I don't know," said Jak, "But this isn't fun anymore."

The truth was the dream was ending, and they were both very close now to waking up. They both struggled to reassert themselves to stay in the dream, and desperately clung on to anything they could see to try and keep a hold of it. But it didn't work. Everything began fading into darkness and they both began to feel themselves lying down on their beds on the sand. Then suddenly, the dream was gone and they found themselves looking up at the ceiling of their shelter again.

They sat up and looked at each other. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," said Jak.

"I'll never forget that!" said Ashelin, "I never even knew that was possible!"

"So you keep saying."

For a quiet moment they sat silently reminiscing in the dream they'd just woken up from. Jak wished he had a way of clearly writing down the details so he wasn't inclined to forget, but that was not so easy on this island. He made a mental note to keep it in the back of his mind so he could recall it later.

But then he remembered: the hill!

"Ashelin," he said, "When we tried to open the Precursor structure, I knew we were close!"

"You think you'd almost solved it?"

"We've got to get there right away!" he said, and they both leapt up from under the shelter and dashed towards the centre of the island. Behind them, Torn had been awoken by their voices and he looked around through half-closed eyes. It was still very dark and he was still very tired. He groaned to himself and slumped back down again.

Jak and Ashelin tore through the jungle as fast as they could go. Though they were running exceptionally fast, it seemed painfully slow to them after experiencing the speeds they'd reached in the dream. They knocked branches aside and crashed through plants and leaves and nearly hit a few trees as well. Jak knew he had to get back to the structure and examine it over once more; his dream had told him that those round lumps on the walls must have something to do with it. But unfortunately he'd run out of time before he had a chance to investigate further. But now he was awake in the real world, and he could implement his ideas from his dreams into reality.

As they arrived at the dome, they both felt their senses flooding back to them, revisiting the feelings they'd experienced when they were last here in the dream. Though it was dark, it was light enough to see where it was and where the lumps were. Jak approached one.

"What's your big plan then?" asked Ashelin.

"Let's see what these things really are…" he said. He reached out his hand once again, but this time of course his progress went unhindered. He placed his hand on it, and it felt cold to the touch, but after two seconds he felt warmth running into it from his hand. After all these years he still possessed his talent for utilising Precursor items, even after his exposure to lethal amounts of dark eco in the Baron's old experiments.

Now he had his hand on it, the words around it seemed to spark momentarily with light. Had he done this years before it was abandoned, he would have witnessed a more impressive result, but now after such a long period of time without maintenance, it had fallen into disrepair and failed to function properly.

But Jak pressed on. He pushed his hand down harder, and the sphere seemed to sink down into the metal. Ashelin was surprised, and so was he, but he continued. He pushed until he heard a dull metal thump and it would go no further. Then he found it became loose. He tried to shift it upwards, and it began to rotate, very slowly with shuddering movements as the last vestiges of dirt and mud were shaken free of its inner workings. It moved slowly upwards with Jak's hand until he had to let go and push it again from further down. It continued to move, until it had rotated a hundred and eighty degrees and he faced a clean side of the sphere that had remained hidden on the inside away from the muck. On this side of it were indentations, pressed into the metal in the shape of a hand.

"Ashelin, come and look at this!" he said, and she hurried over. Through the darkness she could make out the shape of the handprint.

Jak then pressed his hand into it, and the words around the rim flicked into light again, but died just as quickly. From up on the top of the hill they heard a muffled thud, almost inaudible, but in the silence of the night they just managed to pick it up.

"What was that?" asked Ashelin.

"I think we're nearly there," said Jak, "Let's check the others."

They both went opposite ways around the dome to do the same with the other spherical devices. Jak managed to do another, but the one Ashelin encountered was stuck tight. "This one won't budge!" she called.

Jak soon came around and had a go himself. His eco powers were not required to get them activated, as Ashelin did the final one herself, it was just that this one had not been shifted for so long it had got stuck in its position and proved difficult to move. Jak pushed with all his might, and eventually got it shoved down into its socket. But it still proved itself tricky to rotate into position. Jak used up a lot of his strength trying to do this, and was quite exhausted when he'd finally succeeded.

Now all four were in place, they felt they'd just advanced a great step further into unravelling the mystery of the Precursor dome. But they now realised after several attempts that nothing would happen with just the two of them there. Pressing the handprints individually didn't work, and they established that all four had to be pressed simultaneously.

"Luckily there are four of us here," said Ashelin. They now both felt very excited at the prospect of finally learning what this thing was all about. They were about to set off to get Torn and Olto, but then remembered that it was still the middle of the night, and the sun wouldn't rise for some time.

"Let them rest," said Jak, "They won't take kindly to being woken up at this hour."

Neither of them felt tired any more after their exhilarating experience in the dream world, and now their discovery of the spheres. They had no other choice but to wait for a few more hours. But they had plenty to talk about. They climbed the dome and sat next to the beacon, waiting for the sunrise and talking of the wonderful times they'd just had.


	18. New Hope

Torn returned to the Freedom HQ building with the satisfaction of the Drill Platform base, but also with the annoyance of the anonymous entity there that would not show itself. But he stuck to his hopes, and everyone there knew the plan should it suddenly decide to attack.

He was hoping to find Ashelin there waiting to give him the information of their tracking device and if it had successfully delivered the desired data. He was growing weary of this war, and everyone in the city had done their part to valiantly defend their home from the invaders. Every day they'd been pushed to fight their hardest against the mighty jets that constantly plagued their skies, and then to rush around the streets salvaging spare parts and repairing damage. This had been the last thing they'd wanted immediately after the end of the three-way civil war which had torn the city apart, and Torn himself felt responsible and guilty for starting the whole thing, giving the enemy a clear pathway right into their midst.

As he landed his cruiser into the hangar and the roof drew closed, he looked around to see the feet of a Freedom trooper sticking out from underneath the one next to him. There were tools lying around everywhere and Torn nearly stepped on a packet of nails as he climbed out of the cruiser.

The trooper then crawled out from under the vehicle to see who it was who'd just landed. He looked up at Torn and then made a quick salute.

"Commander."

Torn looked down to see Olto, covered in oil with a hammer in his hand.

"Ah," he said, "Fixing up the old cruiser, are we?"

"Yeah, it took a little damage in the last fight," said Olto, "Won't be long before it's good as new again. By the way, Ashelin wants to see you, says it's important."

He knew what the news would be. "Thanks Olto," said Torn, and left the filthy man to his work.

He arrived a few minutes later in the control room, and Ashelin wasted no time, telling him what he wanted to hear as soon as he walked through the doors.

"Torn, we've got co-ordinates for the enemy city!"

She was the only one in the room, and all the computer screens were flashing with results from scans and data collections. Torn approached the main terminal in the centre of the room without a sound, and Ashelin showed him the data.

"Our tracking device clung on through the teleport," she explained, "It stayed on the jet just long enough to relay the signal back to us, then we lost it. I think someone must have seen it and had it destroyed, but just a few seconds was all we needed. We know where they are!"

This was finally what Torn wanted. After long months of warfare they were now one step closer to ending it all. For once they could now make an offensive move of their own and bring the fight to them instead of the other way around.

"So where is it?" he asked.

"It's far," she said, "Far over the ocean and further than any of us have ever been before. Travelling there will be long and risky. You'll be some distance away from us should you run into trouble, and you'll be too far away from us to come back here in time if we are attacked."

"I shouldn't worry about that," said Torn, "The ground turrets seem to put up enough of a defence without the cruisers, and I doubt we'll run into them out there since they teleport everywhere."

"You're right there," said Ashelin, "And by the way, since you've mentioned that, some of our troops have recovered a jet that crashed here during the last attack. It's actually in good shape, and we've got our scientists studying the teleport drive to try and implement it into our own cruisers."

"That'll move things along much quicker," said Torn, "How close are we?"

"Well we've only just picked it up, it'll be some time yet," she explained.

Torn now felt certain that they were in for a real chance now. Even though they didn't have a teleport drive just yet, they could still set off at a normal rate in their cruisers. He'd have to wait a few days though, to get his troops ready and to wait for the right time to move out. Right now it was early in the morning and he needed some rest.

Meanwhile, Jak had just spent the night looking after Daxter with Tess back at the pub. Obviously this meant the pub had been closed, which annoyed many frequent visitors, as it was usually open all the time now. Daxter himself had caused little trouble though, as he'd slept mostly throughout the night, and the place was now a lot quieter. By now the mess he'd created had been swept up and the pub was ready to open again.

As morning came, the doors once again opened to the public, but Daxter remained in bed.

Their first customer today was one of the men who'd tried to get in for a drink during the night, only to find the place shut. But now here he was again and he could finally get what he desired. He strode up to the desk for his usual morning pint, and Tess gladly gave it to him.

Jak meanwhile was still hanging around waiting for Daxter to awaken. Right now he had nothing to do, and he had to make sure his life-long friend was alright. But eventually he left the building for some fresh air. Outside on the concrete pavement that ran all around the port, he felt much better to be breathing in the cool morning air instead of the stuffy atmosphere of Daxter's pub. He looked up and saw how there were many high wispy clouds strewn across the light blue sky, dimly lit in a light orange by the rising sun, with tinges of green from their planet's second sun. This was a pleasant change from the usual dense clouded sky that often covered the city, due to pollution and industrial smoke from the factories. It was always good to see it like this, for he didn't know how long it would last or when it would happen again.

'Will today see another attack?' he thought to himself. Though he didn't know it, they would actually be in for a peaceful day today, so he in fact had much time to enjoy himself. That was if Ashelin didn't assign to him another mission. Like Torn, he had just about had enough of this war. He'd spent the last four or five years of his life fighting for something and he'd saved the world three times, so he'd been expecting some time off to rest after he'd won the civil war for the city. Sadly that wasn't to be.

He inhaled a deep breath of air, and decided then to go for a quick walk around the area.

As he stepped over the debris from the last few battles, he made his way around the corner and towards the entrance to where the old palace used to be. This had since been cleared of wreckage and had been made accessible, but he didn't go that way. Instead he continued his journey through the port.

He rounded the next corner and saw a few other people up and walking around. Right now they were permitted to do so as there was no clear sign of danger yet. But then again, there usually wasn't anyway. Should anyone find themselves outside when a sudden attack was launched, they were advised to head for cover as quickly as possible. Therefore nobody ever strayed far from their homes. These people seemed strangely relaxed about the whole situation, and it was the first proper time since the fighting began that he stopped to think about how this war might be affecting the citizens of Haven.

He decided to go and talk to them, to add a bit of interest.

"Hey," he called after them. Everyone turned around and saw who it was, and were much pleased to see Jak standing there. Here he was, the hero of the city, who'd escaped from banishment and had saved and fought for them while they'd all been hiding indoors.

"Wondered if I could talk with you all for a second?" he asked.

"What about?" said the others.

"I don't know. Anything," said Jak, "Tell me how your life's been recently. I'd like to hear from you all."

For a few minutes he spoke with the citizens and learned of how they'd managed to survive the countless raids on their cities, how one's house had nearly been destroyed by a fallen jet, how they longed for it all to end…

"Can you stop this war?" asked one of them, "Can you do what you've done twice before and finally get rid of all of our enemies, so we can have a time of peace and happiness?"

Jak wished to give the positive answer, but he was unsure of his certainty. He did know that they were indeed closer to winning than ever before, but he was yet to learn of the location of the enemy city, but he found within himself a sense of belief and hope, as he and everyone around him knew that even in the darkest of times, he would always pull them through victorious. He was one of the most well-known figures in the city, and provided something for them all to live for and hope for the future.

Finally he gave an answer: "We will win this war," he said, full of confidence, "I don't know how long it will take, but I will tell you now that we will get through this."

These were his last words to the people before he moved off once again to continue his walk around the port. He felt much better after talking to the citizens he'd encountered, and it gave him a greater understanding of how they felt about it all. In general, they all wanted to see the end of the war, but they also wanted to ensure nothing like this would ever happen again. Jak was unsure if he could see to that, because he knew there would always be some dark evil hiding away somewhere in the world. But the attitudes of the people made him feel happier about himself on the whole, because they respected and looked up to him.

He approached the bridge that led to the high towers in the waters of the port and walked across it slowly, taking in the air around him. He remembered the first time he arrived here, pursued by Krimzon Guards carrying an eco ore package to Krew, and it made him happy to know that he'd had such fun here in the past, but now the whole place was dilapidated and strewn with debris and wreckage.

In the centre of the tower base, he found three Freedom Fighters inspecting the structure for damage. It was vital that these remained standing, as they provided most of the power to the port, and served as searchlights also. The three troops seemed much too focussed on their job to even notice Jak walk past them, and they were left to their task.

Over the second bridge, Jak caught sight of one of the few remaining platform vessels drifting around in the water, and to this day he was still unsure of exactly what they were for. They were clearly of no important purpose as those which had been destroyed would have been replaced by now. Instead they just sat in ruins on the bottom of the port under the water.

Nothing much of interest was happening at the second tower, and Jak looked up and remembered climbing to the very top and then jet boarding across the wires. He'd really enjoyed doing that, and he made a mental note to himself that it was something he must do again once this war was over. He could do it now if he wanted, since there was little authority right now in the city, but unfortunately he didn't have his jet board on him right now.

He made his way across the final bridge back to the main walkway that ran around the edge. Overhead, a citizen flew past on a zoomer, and Jak felt the warmth from the engine underneath. This again reminded him of the first time he'd shot into the port with Krew's package, and also the many other great adventures he'd had involving these fantastic vehicles. It was in fact his friend Keira who'd invented the first zoomer back in Sandover, over three hundred years ago from the present day. Jak had been there of course, and had been the first to use it and ride it effectively. Now they'd advanced much further and were a mass-produced domestic item that nearly everybody owned, and was the city's main method of transportation.

Jak was now almost back to the Naughty Ottsel, having spent over twenty minutes on his walk. As he re-entered, he caught sight of Daxter sitting on the bar table. He was awake now, but he didn't look that good. He was still drinking, but Jak was pleased to see that it was plain water.

"How are you?" he asked as he approached the desk.

"Got a hangover…" murmured Daxter. This didn't come as a surprise to either Jak or Tess, who was standing close by. Though no one will ever know exactly how much he drank the previous night, it was certainly above the average limit he was used to drinking.

"You just take care, alright?" he said, "Don't go doing anything foolish. You just rest."

Daxter raised his hand as a sign of acknowledgement, before lying back down again. Jak was unsure why he was choosing to rest in the main room instead of his actual bedroom round the back. Maybe he felt a duty that he should be watching over his pub now it was open again. Jak settled with that reason; in fact he wasn't all that bothered, but nevertheless, he sat down anyway for a drink of his own.

The pub was unusually quiet today, but then again, it was early morning and there were few drinkers in at this moment. Plus, it was probably under orders from Tess, who must have wanted to keep things quiet to ease Daxter's headache.

Back at the Freedom Headquarters, the scientists were busily rushing about the laboratory, running tests and conducting analyses, trying to establish the fundamentals of the captured enemy teleporter. Teleportation was easy enough to construct by themselves, as they'd used them to frequently hop back and forth to places like the drill platform and the strip mine before the war. However, now they were all broken, they needed some new ones. Plus, they'd never before constructed teleporters as compact as these ones in the enemy jets. Now they were studying the technology and trying to establish a way to implement it into their own vehicles. It would help them mightily in the war effort, and it would give their enemies a taste of their own tactics. It could work now they had the co-ordinates.

However, it would definitely take some time to get it working properly. They were gradually learning the steps required to build their own by studying this original, and they believed that indeed it would be possible.

Very soon, Ashelin entered to check on their progress.

"How goes the work?" she asked.

The head scientist stepped forward. "We've got as far as examining the interior workings of the control panel, but we are still far from a complete success."

"Exactly how much longer do you think it will take?" asked Ashelin.

"We can't say for sure, but it might take maybe three or four weeks, maybe even a month," he explained, "But that's not to stop us heading over to the enemy city by conventional means."

He was correct. Even though they still didn't have the teleportation technology, they still had the co-ordinates. They could input them into their on-board computers and follow the directions, just as they'd done when they'd first discovered the people of Idandi. It was something to be considered, because they had to do something soon otherwise they'd lose their chance which they now had to make an impact themselves and bring the fight to their enemies for once.

Ashelin would have to inform Torn of this, but right now he was resting and she chose not to disturb him. He'd been working so hard lately to carry out his plans and keep the soldiers mobilised. He deserved his rest.

Ashelin then returned to the conference room to think over the plans herself. She had to admit, Torn was the brains when it came to thinking up strategies, and though she had a decent mind for it herself, she couldn't see things the way Torn did, to leap at advantages and piece together effective plans. She walked over to the window and stepped out onto the balcony to look over the city she ruled over, and watched the skies for any sign of activity. There was none, and she too began to wonder if there were to be any attacks today. It was a rare sight to catch the sky this clear, and the weather was some of the best she'd seen in a very long time. Down on the cluttered streets below, Freedom Guards patrolled the area with vigilance, ready for anything. The months of war had hardened them into bitter warriors, and they were now the finest they'd ever been. They all had a sense that they were soon going to end this war, even though few of them knew truthfully how close they really were to gaining victory. Very soon, they would be ready to embark on their fateful journey, and set off to their enemies' city with the hope of finally turning the war in their favour. For too long they'd sat and defended themselves, and it was definitely time now to move forward with their offensive. But their defence had not been fruitless; the constant attacks from their enemy had all been repelled, and by now they must have been running low on man power, after losing so many soldiers. Now was the time to move. They'd been gaining power gradually over that time, and they were now ready to unleash it upon their enemies.

Ashelin looked over Haven City and gained a deep sense of victory. This vast and powerful city that she ruled over, though it didn't look like it right now, would soon arise victorious. With her efforts, combined with those of Torn and Jak and all the citizens of Haven, they would finally destroy their enemies and remove their threat from the world.

But it was all still such a shame that this war had begun. It was a futility; there was no reason for it. It had all been caused by accident, and it had resulted in the loss of many lives and the destruction of many buildings. These opponents would have made great allies, and they would have been able to combine their efforts together and repopulate the world once again, and repair the damage the Metal Heads had caused.

However, sadly that wasn't to be. There was no going back now, and Ashelin knew it. They had to be destroyed; there was no other way around it, not now.

The rest of the day passed slowly and quietly. Everyone was thankful that they'd received another peaceful day, as it gave them time to regroup their forces and rebuild their homes. Plus, it was a sign that everyone recognised that they were coming closer to the end of the war. These days of peace were becoming more and more frequent, and this showed their enemies were getting weaker. Until now the battle had been a stalemate, with neither sides being able to advance any further. But now, the people of Haven may just have the upper hand to rise up and put an end to this war once and for all. But this plan needed co-operation and a well thought-out strategy if it was to be successful.

Eventually, as the day drew to a close, Torn returned from his quarters feeling refreshed and replenished. It was the first good period of rest he'd had for a while now, and everyone knew he really deserved it. Luckily, since there had been no attacks today, he'd had a plentiful, undisturbed rest, and was now feeling up to planning the invasion.

As he entered the conference room, Ashelin and many other officials were there, and they had the data and the information ready to implement into their new offensive strategy. The doors closed and the discussion began – the most important discussion of the whole war, the one that would bring about the end of this after so many months of hostility. The end was almost here.


	19. The Unlocking

Wind blew over the tree-tops across the entire island, sending a chill towards the two figures who sat atop the hill. For two hours now, Jak and Ashelin had sat and talked about their amazing night, awaiting the sunrise. Their new discovery was certainly one that had not been heard of before back in the city, and it made them feel special to be the only ones who knew about this great skill and this knowledge.

For a long time they'd discussed this phenomenon and several potential ways to improve and enhance it. Their discussions had led them to a new lease on life and awareness of how their minds acted at night, and it was something they decided to continue to discover more about when they could.

"Just you wait until we tell those scientists back at Haven," said Ashelin.

"I'm sure they'll be extremely interested," said Jak.

"We'll have to write down our experiences and our notes more often," Ashelin suggested, "It could be our key to uncovering more about them."

"I agree, but we have no way of doing that right now," Jak said.

He was right. They could of course write it down in the sand, but then there was the risk of it getting washed or blown away, and of course, they wouldn't be able to take it with them when they did eventually leave. Another idea was to scratch it into a stone or a piece of wood, but they only used their tools and their resources when they needed to. They'd most likely be accused by Torn and Olto for wasting time and equipment.

"Can't be long now until sun-up," said Jak, looking once again out to the horizon. The sky was certainly getting lighter, and they could see the ocean now, glimmering in the early light. Just once, they hoped they would catch sight of something out in the waters, something that could take them home and get them off this island. Though they'd spent much time here, surviving to the best of their abilities, they were indeed getting a little homesick now. They wanted to see their friends and family again, and get back home to their comrades. How was the city coping without them? There was no way for them to know, completely cut off from everything out here in the ocean.

Soon the stars began to vanish, and life returned slowly to the island.

"When are we going to start working on this boat of yours then?" asked Ashelin, "Just in case this beacon doesn't work."

"Probably as soon as possible," said Jak, "I think a good plan would be to get this beacon set up and get it running first, and then while that's up, we can be building this boat and getting our plans set up for leaving. So that's in case nobody comes, we'll have to make our own way back home."

"Do you know which way to go?"

"Actually I don't," said Jak, "We don't have any clue where we are. Torn might have a feeling of the correct way to go, since he seems the most familiar with the city and its surroundings."

"Just a feeling?" she said, "We're going to be heading home just with a feeling?"

"Hey, it's better than nothing."

Now the first vestiges of sunlight were beginning to show in the distance. The sky was cloudless, and it began to grow in colour and vividness. A beam of light appeared over the horizon, and it lit up the sky around it with a bright yellow glow. It dazzled them at first, but their eyes soon adjusted and they could now see things much clearer. The detail and the colour returned to the plants and the trees around them, and the ocean was a fantastic blue colour in the early morning light.

"It looks beautiful, doesn't it?" said Ashelin.

Jak silently nodded in acknowledgment, and they continued to watch the sun rise with increasing delight.

It was a shame there were no clouds in the sky to add to the unique experience. It would have given a much greater and dramatic addition to the sunrise and maybe some interesting colours too.

Ashelin looked over in the rough direction of where their shelter stood. Though she could not see it under the trees, she hoped that Olto and Torn would wake up soon. She was eager to see what was really inside this structure, if there was anything in it at all. It would be a huge blow if there wasn't. All this sense of discovery thrown away like that; it had been one of the only forms of excitement they'd experienced on this island, except of course for last night's dream.

They sat in silence as they watched the sun's ascent. It crept over the horizon at a very slow pace, bringing with it light and warmth to bathe the island in. There was nothing else for them to do, and they had nothing to lose right now, so they just watched it.

Soon it became so bright that they had to avert their eyes. The sky was now the familiar blue it always was, and the day had arrived. There was no doubt that it would be like any other of the previous days spent on the island, bright and cheerful and warm. The storm and the cloudy day that followed it were the only anomalies in the weather. This again drew their thoughts back to exactly where on the planet they were. Back in the city, they had cloudy days nearly all of the time, and this part of the world was obviously some distance from home due to the pleasant change in the weather conditions. Or maybe they were just extremely lucky to be here at the right time. Perhaps it was just the time of the year.

But whatever it was they would never know for sure until they got back to the city. It was now day time, and they climbed down the hill to check back on their friends at the shelter.

When they returned there, they found that Olto was still sleeping and Torn was over by the sea, washing his face by the looks of it. They went over to see him, and told him about the dome. They didn't tell him about their dream experience, even though both of them wanted to tell him really badly, just to see his reaction, but they decided not to because he probably wasn't going to be into that sort of thing anyway. He was usually very sceptical when he came to things like that.

"That's a point," he said, regarding the Precursor structure, "I forgot about those weird ball-type things. You think they'll open it?"

"I think so," said Jak, "But we'll need all four of us there at once to do so."

"I see, we'll need to wake Olto."

"Let him wake up by himself," said Ashelin, "He might still be ill."

"Ah yes," said Torn remembering, "I wonder what's up with him?"

"I really don't know," she replied, "But I'm worried about him, since we don't have any proper medical equipment here. What will we do if he gets too ill to walk?" She was beginning to worry a bit too much now.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," said Jak, "As long as we're here for him, he'll be safe."

They walked together for a while along the beach as the morning unfolded. They passed the large rock at the end of the sand, but didn't go around the corner, staying only on their side of the island. They didn't want to stray too far just yet.

In time, Olto woke up, and looked around him. He was feeling a little better this morning after a good night's rest, but he wasn't completely back to full health yet. Down the beach off to his left he saw his friends coming up towards him, and when they saw him awake, they came over to meet him.

He got up to his feet just as Jak asked him, "How are you feeling today?"

"Still not great," he answered, "But still, better than I was yesterday evening."

"Well, it's an improvement," said Ashelin.

"Yeah, thanks for looking after me."

"By the way, we need your help," said Torn.

"What do you want me to do?"

Torn gestured to Ashelin, as a sign for her to explain.

"Jak and I may have found a way to unlock or get into that Precursor structure," she said, "You know those round things on the side of it? Well we think they may be the key to getting it open or whatever. Seems they all need to be done at the same time, so we're going to need you there with us."

"I see," said Olto, "No problem. It's about time we knew what that thing was. Let's go." He was eager to finally see what this thing did, if anything. He was pleased that there was still something to be discovered here on the island, even after all this time. He needed a walk right now anyway, after his long night of sleeping.

The four of them then headed back into the jungle, back towards the centre of the island to finally unlock the mystery of the dome. As they walked, they each felt extremely excited about what they were about to do. There was a deep sense of innovation in the air around them, and they all felt like archaeologists, about to unearth an unknown piece of their history that had remained hidden for so long. Jak was the most interested, because this was like a reminiscence of all of his previous adventures back in Sandover when he was young. Finding mysterious objects was customary back in those times, but now this was like revisiting a whole part of his past life.

The others were interested too, but it was in a whole different sense because this was the first time something like this had happened to them. They wondered if this was how Jak had felt when this first happened to him, but of course the concept was much different back then, as nowadays there were very few items like this to be found anywhere, after the Metal Heads destroyed so many. The first time Jak had discovered something, he hadn't felt that impressed, because, being around Samos constantly, everyone was more in tune with the workings of the Precursors and their origins. They were being studied all the time, and nobody thought much about it.

But now, Jak was revisiting those feelings, and experiencing completely new ones too. Being surrounded by his friends influenced these feelings, and he knew what it meant to them. Being so focussed on defending themselves and looking towards their prosperous future all the time had restricted them from thinking too much about the past. The secrets that had been lost throughout time were slowly revealing themselves.

The sensations were almost magical as they reached the dome itself. For a moment they all stood and stared at it, amazed in its enigmatic majesty, and revelling in the fact that they would soon be revealing what lay inside it.

"Let's go," said Jak, "Go around the sides, and grab hold of a sphere."

The four of them took their positions around the edge of the dome. Torn and Olto looked down at the hand-shaped crevices in the metal. They now knew what the others had been talking about; they'd never thought of trying to move them before, and it turned out that these were here underneath them all the time.

Jak was unsure of whether this would work or not. It had showed some life when he put his hands to it, though it didn't open because obviously more people were needed to operate the others. But he was also thinking about whether they could actually do it. Jak was adept at handling eco, but the others were not. Would they even be able to activate it?

"Everyone ready?" he called. Everyone answered positively. "Right, go!" he shouted, and all four of them placed their hands onto the spheres in front of them.

There was a hum and the lettering around the rims illuminated, but then they all went dead again. Jak was nervous. What was the cause of this?

"What's happened?" asked Torn.

"I don't know," said Jak. His worst suspicions were coming to light. Maybe they weren't capable of doing this after all. Maybe it was only he who had the necessary skills to open it, but he couldn't do this by himself.

"Do you think it's actually broken?" suggested Olto. Now that was something Jak had not considered. Maybe years of dereliction had taken its toll on this structure, and it was no longer in working order. That cheered him up a little bit, but then it pulled him down again for the fact there were now two possible reasons for this failure.

"But how do we know for sure?" he said.

"Try again," said Ashelin, "One, two, three, go!" Once again, they all placed their hands onto the spheres, and the hum returned to it, but this time it lasted considerably longer than before, but then it cut out once again.

"Did you see that?" said Jak, "I think it might be working! It's just getting warmed up!"

"Once more?" said Ashelin.

"Once more!" replied Jak, now getting very excited. "One, two, three, go!"

This time, the hum grew in volume and pitch, and all the Precursor letterings illuminated brighter than ever before. The dome started vibrating and they could feel the energy running through into their fingers.

"It's working!" cried Olto.

They all looked up to the top of the dome where the last remnants of grass and mud remained. It began to shake, and clods of dirt fell loose and rolled past them down the sloped metal. Then the whole piece of earth split in two and diverged. The berry bush fell away through the split in the centre, and the beacon itself toppled over, only for it to be caught safely by Torn before it fell to the ground. By now, all four of them had removed their hands from the spheres, and stood back to watch the top of the dome open up above them. A light emanated from the summit and brightened the area around them, and all the mud and grass moved away and toppled down the sides into the pile at the base. Then the whole thing came to a halt, the humming stopped and the roof was now fully open.

Everyone stood in silence just staring at what they'd witnessed. None of them spoke to each other, but they all instinctively knew what they were thinking. They immediately shot up the sides of the dome to the top, and all grabbed a hold of the edge to peer inside the bright gap before them.

Their eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, but before long they could see down into the structure and what they saw amazed them. Inside, the walls continued downwards and were covered in bright lights, and shelves of Precursor items; ancient untouched artefacts that sat silently waiting for use inside this dome. There was no floor; instead the chamber descended far downwards into the earth, like the Precursor sub-rail system Jak had once travelled on. The lights and the shelves continued, and they went so far down that none of them could see exactly where it stopped. There were enough artefacts in here to last them forever on this island, and just the mere sight of it filled them with awe and majesty.

For Jak, it was like stumbling on a hidden gold mine. This was their heritage, and they'd just uncovered a huge secretive part of it that no one had ever seen before. Jak was so happy to finally be so close to something of Precursor origins again, something that they just might have used themselves to build the world.

Ashelin, Torn and Olto were spellbound. They'd heard so much about their Precursor ancestors, but had never actually seen or found anything about them. So much destruction from the Metal Heads had turned them into an ancient enigma, and the closest thing they had to this back at Haven City was the Mountain Temple, which they'd strived to protect. But by now it was probably inaccessible after the war, and fuller of hiding Metal Heads than ever before. But this was such a discovery to them, this was the most adventurous and magical moment in their lives. For once, they could take a glimpse into the world of their ancient and mysterious predecessors.

A wave of intrigue suddenly swept over them. They had to get inside and explore further. But how? There was nowhere to get a good foothold inside the dome, and no floor. And just how deep was this thing? It seemed to go on forever downwards into oblivion. There would be no easy way to get in here without difficulty.

"It's a Precursor storeroom!" said Torn.

"Just look at all this stuff!" said Olto, amazed at the quality and quantity of these many items.

"How much is there?" said Ashelin.

Jak was speechless, but he soon found it in him to speak up. "There's more in here than Daxter and I have ever found in the past!"

They all now began to wildly deliberate the purpose of this dome. Now they knew what was in it, they could make a more accurate assumption to work out the truth.

"When the Metal Heads invaded," said Jak, "This structure must have been built to hide and protect these remaining items for the future." It was the most logical reason he could come up with at the moment, and the others around him seemed to agree with it.

"But who put it here?" asked Torn.

"It must have been the last remaining people who lived here," said Jak. Even though there was no sign of previous habitation on this island, and there was no other land anywhere in sight, there must have been some people who came here to carefully store away all these artefacts. It made sense to him; the Metal Heads wouldn't see an obscure island out in the middle of the sea as a notable interest.

"But where did they come from?" asked Ashelin.

The opening of the dome had in fact produced more questions than it had answered.

"I don't know," said Jak.

"But they must have lived close by," said Olto, "They can't have travelled far to bring all those items here."

"Or could they?" asked Ashelin.

Torn then said, "Look, we might never know the truth, but right now we should investigate this further and try to get some of this stuff out of here."

He was right. They were all too busy worrying about the past. What they should be doing is working on what was happening now.

"But how're we going to do that?" said Jak, "There's no floor, we'd fall right down."

"We could try reaching in and grabbing them," suggested Olto. He looked at Ashelin, who had the longest arms, with an enquiring expression on his face.

"Alright," she said, getting the hint. She leaned over as far as she could into the dome to try and grab some of the topmost items. Unfortunately, they weren't up high enough, and her hand failed to come close enough to grab them.

"OK, that won't work," said Olto, "But we shouldn't give up."

"How about a rope?" suggested Jak, "We could grab a vine or a piece of wood, and hook them out."

"Again, we're only going to be able to get the top ones with that," said Ashelin.

"But if it's strong enough, we could lower someone down into it to get them," said Torn.

Now that was a good idea. The only problem though would be making such a thing. There were plenty of vines in the forest, but they didn't know how strong they'd be.

"Alright, let's try that," said Jak, "It might work. Let's go and collect some vines."

At once, they all hurried off to different parts of the forest, but not before heading back to their shelter to collect their knives. The search was on. Very soon, they'd be able to recover some of the Precursor items, and maybe use them to their advantage to finally get off this island.


	20. Espionage

Daxter groaned to himself as the last of his hangover left him. He'd been unaware of the time for most of the day, but he soon learned from Tess that it was now some time in the afternoon. He felt a little bit dozy still, but at least he wasn't being sick everywhere anymore. He couldn't remember the events of the previous night, which was probably just as well for him, but he had an urge to know.

"You drank too much and passed out," was all Tess would tell him.

"What a party!" he said, "It's just a shame that I don't remember it!"

Tess tried to tell him that there had been no party, but he wouldn't have any of it.

Jak sat close by, watching his companion slowly return to reality. He was happy to see that Daxter was returning to his old self, but he also wished that he could control himself a little better when left unsupervised. But after all, it was his pub, and he'd probably use that in his defence. He could do whatever he wanted in here, and no one would bother to question him.

A thought suddenly struck Daxter, and he wondered why the city was unusually quiet outside.

Jak explained, "We're lucky that we didn't have any attacks today. The whole city's been recovering and making plans to move against the enemy."

"Am I gonna have to come too?" asked Daxter.

"I'm afraid so," replied Jak, "This adventure's big enough for both of us."

Right now, even though he still wasn't fully with it yet, Daxter wanted to stay in his pub a little longer and watch over his customers.

"Don't worry, we're not going anywhere just yet," added Jak, and Daxter was a little happier at this statement.

"I'll probably be up for it by tomorrow," said Daxter, "It's been a while since our last great adventure hasn't it?"

Jak nodded silently. He then thought back to when he defeated Errol in the Dark Maker machine. That had been their last exciting escapade, when the world was at risk. But this war didn't really feel like an adventure, more like a disturbance. It wasn't meant to have happened, and right now they should be living peacefully instead of dwelling in the shadow of imminent attack.

"Ah, it doesn't matter!" said Daxter, suddenly leaping to his feet and punching the air around him, "We can take 'em!"

Jak smiled to see that his friend was now feeling lively again, but also because of the fact that they were soon to embark on another mission, maybe their last if it was successful. Finally he could get some proper well-deserved time to relax, instead of having to sleep on his toes all the time, ready to defend himself and his friends from some evil force.

"Maybe once this war's over, we can hold an all-night celebration here!" said Daxter with great excitement, "There'll be music, drinks, dancing, women..." He had many other things on his list, but didn't have time to say them when one of the drinkers in a dark corner spoke up.

"Yeah, you can do it!" he said, raising his glass in the air, "You go out there and thrash 'em, so we can all party!"

"That's the spirit!" said Daxter, pleased with the support he was getting from his customers, though he didn't recognise this guy as one of his frequenters. But that was nothing to worry about, as he was clearly enjoying himself.

"You see?" continued Daxter, "Everyone here believes in us! We can win this war!"

Jak was happy that Daxter was feeling more confident with himself now, and was showing more of a positive attitude towards their victory. That would help when it came to the fight.

"Yeah, they must be running out of energy by now," said Jak, "We'll have them finished soon enough."

"What makes you say that then?" The question came from the man in the corner again, and he now looked to be very interested in their conversation. Jak wondered why this could be, but he didn't want to appear rude and gave an answer.

"Well, their attacks have been slowing recently, and they've been fighting with less intensity and less jets. This shows me they're running out of men to fight, but we don't know for sure. However, with all sense I would say they are definitely weakening."

The man stood up and came closer to the bar table. "What about our leaders? What are they going to do?" As he got to the counter, he set his almost empty glass down and gestured for another refill. Daxter took it behind the counter and started filling it up again.

"They're coming up with a plan," Jak said cautiously, careful not to reveal too much classified information. He also wondered why this guy was so interested. He began to get a suspicious feeling about him. But he was drinking after all; he might be a little bit inebriated himself.

"What's the plan then?" he persisted, with an inquisitive tone.

"Not even I know that yet," said Jak, "But don't worry, we'll think of something."

The man put his gloved hand on the table, and took the seat next to him. Jak was feeling uncomfortable with him being so close to him and tried not to make much eye contact.

"Yeah, we'll show them a thing or two!" he said, "We'll teach them a lesson for knocking down half our city!"

"Yeah, we'll get there," Jak reassured him.

Tess, who was standing close by, was beginning to take notice of this man, and didn't recognise him from previous visits. She was starting to get suspicious, and he was a shady looking character anyway. He wore dark gloves, a large coat, and a hat that was tilted slightly over his eyes. Very soon, Daxter returned to him from under the desk with his drink.

"Here ya go!" he said.

"Thanks," he answered. "Anyway, what's your role in the war?"

Now that was not a widely asked question. "Don't you know who I am?" he asked.

The man looked a little confused for a second, but then brightened up again. "Ah, of course I do!" he said joyfully, slapping Jak on the back, "You're great, you are!"

"You bet he is!" Daxter spoke up, "Jak and I are world-famous heroes! Everyone knows who we are. We've saved this pathetic planet three times already!"

Jak looked back at this guy once more as he took a sip of his drink. As he did so, his coat slipped open for a second, revealing something green and glowing. This caught Jak's eye, but it was only visible for a very short time, and he didn't catch exactly what it was.

"Anyway," said the man again, "I suppose you're the one to put a stop to all this fighting? That's what I hear people saying anyway. But tell me this; I've always been so fascinated by your fighter aircraft, but I've never actually seen one up close. Think you could help me out here?"

It was a rather odd question, and Jak wasn't sure how to answer it.

"You could always join the Freedom League," said Daxter, "Then you'll get to fly one. They could use guys like you."

"The Freedom League… That's that big building at the north end of town, right?"

"Yep, can't miss it," Daxter replied.

"I might just do that," said the man, finishing his drink. He was about to leave, but Tess stopped him as he was getting up. She was really beginning to dislike the sound of his voice.

"Do you think you'll come back later?" she asked, taking away his glass.

"Oh yes, definitely!" said the man, "This place serves the best beer in town."

"This place serves the _only _beer in town!" said Daxter.

"Where do you live anyway?" continued Tess.

"Hmm, not far away," he answered, "It's in that place over there..." He pointed his arm to the right of the room, indicating the direction of the Industrial zone.

"You mean in the stadium sector next to the statue of Torn?" asked Jak.

"Yeah, that's the place," answered the man. He had unwittingly fallen into Jak's trap, as there was no statue of Torn anywhere in the city, and the direction in which he pointed was nowhere near the stadium sector. Jak also caught a look at the man's eyes, which appeared dark and dilated and much larger than anyone else's. Before anyone knew what was happening, Jak leapt to his feet and landed a violent blow with his fist right onto the man's nose, sending him flying backwards to the ground.

Everyone in the bar turned around startled, and Daxter jumped in shock. The man quickly got back to his feet, blood rushing from his nose and reached into his coat, and pulled out what Jak now knew to be a weapon. He rushed forward and grabbed a hold of his arms, preventing him from using it. They both struggled against each other, but Jak twisted his wrist around, forcing him to let go of his gun, which flew to his side and under a chair. His eyes looked down for a split second to find it, but Jak brought his knee up into his stomach, and then threw him aside into an empty table. The table crashed under his weight, with a devastating crack followed by a loud thud as he fell to the floor.

He tried to regain his balance, and his hand found its way to a nearby beer bottle, which he smashed against the hard floor, and used it to defend himself against his attacker. He launched forward, intending to stab Jak with the broken glass, but Jak was too quick for him and very nimbly jumped aside and caught him under his arm.

Before he could do anything else, Daxter bravely leapt into the fray and dug his claws into the man's neck. He screamed in pain and shock, and threw his head back, knocking his hat off to reveal a pale bald scalp. This man was an enemy spy.

He flailed his arms around in a wild attempt to get at those who were attacking him, but the best he could manage was a light brush against Jak's leg. He knew now that it was unlikely for him to gain any further advantage over his opponent; Jak was too strong a fighter. He screamed as he was flung upwards and then crashed down back onto the ground, knocking both Daxter and the bottle out of his sight. He looked ahead of him and caught a glimpse of his weapon under the chair, but a boot came down onto his back, pinning him to the ground and rendering him unable to move. The gun was then picked up by Daxter and thrown to Jak, who caught it and pointed it squarely at the back of the spy's head.

"Don't move!" he shouted.

The spy knew he was beaten, and he could do nothing in his current position, so he just rested his face against the floor and closed his eyes. He felt foolish for falling into Jak's trap; he knew he should have taken more time to study the layout of the city.

The bar fell silent, and then the regulars returned to their drinking and light discussion as Jak pulled out his communicator. This was the first time he had used it to send a message himself. He pressed the button, spoke into it and contacted Torn.

"Torn! We've got an enemy spy over at the Naughty Ottsel! We need you here right now!"

After a few seconds, Torn replied, "Copy that. Is he dangerous?"

"No, he's apprehended," explained Jak.

"Copy that, I'll get there as soon as I can," said Torn, and then switched off his communicator.

Jak placed it back in his pack, and then turned to the subdued spy once more. He pulled him up by the collar of his coat and set him down on a bar stool. Tess produced some handcuffs that she trivially kept under the bar table, and threw them to Jak who used them to keep the man detained, cuffing his hands behind his back, and then sat down next to him to keep an eye on him.

"Torn's on his way," he said, "He'll be here soon to deal with him and get him over to HQ."

Daxter picked himself up and felt very excited. "Yeah! We've captured an enemy spy, and in my pub too!" he said with great enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the spy sat thinking and said nothing, and he remained so until Torn arrived with three other Freedom soldiers.

As he walked in through the front door, the spy looked up and saw his enemies' commander. His operation had been to find out who he was, sabotage their headquarters and cause as much turmoil as possible. But he'd failed, and now he was unsure of what would happen to him next.

Torn observed the man carefully. "Is this the guy?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Jak, "He's all yours."

"Right, bring him in," Torn said to his soldiers, and two of them stepped forwards and picked the man up by his arms and led him out of the room into the waiting prison cruiser outside.

"Here's his weapon," said Jak, "You might want to have our scientists look at it," and he handed the gun to Torn who inspected it keenly.

"Once again I have to thank you, Jak," he said, "You've protected our city from great internal harm by subduing this spy. Who knows what he could have done if you hadn't stopped him."

Jak smiled. "It's just another adventure," he said.

"How much does he already know?" Torn asked.

"Not much, we didn't tell him anything vital," Jak explained, "He tried to get at our war plans and find the HQ building."

"Good work," answered Torn, "Well, if it's the HQ building he's after, he'll be heading there right now, though he won't be able to cause any trouble under our custody. We'll interrogate him and find out what we can, and ensure he'll never report back to his homeland with his little information."

"You're doing a fine job," said Jak, "It looks to be that we will indeed win this war. First the tracking device, then the co-ordinates, and now this. It's definitely turning in our favour."

"You're right there," said Torn, "Good luck Jak, and keep fighting."

Torn left the bar and returned to his cruiser outside, ferrying the prisoner back towards Freedom HQ. Within minutes of the events unfurling, word began to spread around the city of the capture of the spy, and even though it worried them that an enemy had so easily infiltrated their walls, they were reassured now that he could no longer pose a significant threat. He was now detained, and this just added more hope towards the coming end of the war.

But were there more spies who still hadn't been discovered? This worried the people, and soon they began to suspect each other. It appeared the spy had not failed to achieve some damage after all.


	21. The Great Below

The mysterious Precursor dome was now open, and it revealed itself to be full of ancient artefacts from the past. This was a momentous find for all four friends on the island, and curiosity made them want to progress further and dig deeper to retrieve as many as they could. It was possible they could be of some use to them and help them out of their situation.

Their plan was to make some sort of pulley system out of vines to pull them out of the dome and into the sunlight, where they could be examined and possibly used to some extent.

Within minutes after setting off, they'd acquired a combined length of nearly eighty feet of good vines. They met up again at the foot of the dome, and began to lash their pieces together. They still didn't know how far down the pit descended, or whether their length would be long enough. But what they did know was that they would definitely retrieve some of those items from inside the dome.

"We'd better test it first," said Jak when all the vines were finally tied together. One thing they didn't want was for it to break during the process and render an artefact or one of themselves trapped at the bottom of the pit, wherever that may be.

They tied one end to a nearby tree, ensuring it was fastened tightly, and all together pulled as hard as they could on the other end. The line remained taught, and it showed no sign of weakness. Ashelin wasn't convinced though.

"We should test it further," she said, "We should see if it can keep one of us suspended in the air. Tie a loop in the end and sling it over that branch."

It was done, and there was now a suitable foot-hold on the end to render hanging on easier. It hung low enough for Ashelin to get her foot into the loop, and she pushed down in it hard, while the others held it further along. It held, and then Ashelin climbed up and grabbed a hold of it with her hands.

"Right, pull now," she said, and the others pulled back on the vine, lifting her up into the air above them. It held tightly, and they held it there for a few seconds to see the effects. Nothing happened; the vines were strong and could hold the weight of at least one of them.

Ashelin was satisfied now, and they took it down ready for retrieving the items. They kept the one end tied to the tree for added support, and even though this made it several metres shorter, it made them feel easier about their safety.

They returned to the top of the hill once again, and peered down into the gap. Their first target was decided to be a certain item on the topmost shelf closest to them. It even had a hook-shaped object on the top to grab hold of with the vine loop.

"Right, let's drop it in," said Torn, and the vine was slowly lowered into the dome. It was not long before it arrived at its target, and Jak attempted some skilful manoeuvres to hook it onto the object. At times it seemed that he was almost on it, but then it would swing tantalizingly in a different direction, much to their annoyance. But eventually, Jak managed to slip the loop over the hook, and he pulled it tight as soon as he caught hold.

"Yes!" shouted the others around him, and made several excited gestures.

"It's not over yet," said Jak, and he slowly began to reel the vine back in. The object was not large or heavy, and the task was relatively easy because of this. It wasn't long before the item was retrieved and Jak held it in his hands.

They all cheered excitedly at the prospect of recovering their first item from inside the dome. Then they examined what they'd just obtained. It was a small, rounded piece of Precursor metal, shaped a little bit like a leaf, and the hook extended from where the central stem would have been.

"What do you think it is?" asked Olto.

"We can try and figure that out later," said Torn, "Does it look familiar to you, Jak?"

Jak inspected it closely from several angles before shaking his head. "Nope."

He put it aside and lowered the vine back inside the dome. There were a further five items placed on the top shelf, three small ones and two larger ones. Jak went for another small one, which was more difficult to grab a hold of with the vine due to a lack of suitable appendages. From what they could see from above, it resembled a short metal stick with a ball on the end.

As he swung the vine closer, he found it very difficult to find a way to loop it over the stick item. He managed to shift it a few inches, but that was all he could manage. "We might have to leave that one," he said. Then he moved onto the object next to it, one of the larger pieces. This one was easier to get hold of, but it was much heavier. Jak needed an extra hand from Torn before he could pull it out of the dome and place it with the other item, but like that one, he had no idea what it was for.

Another attempt saw him retrieve the other two items; one looked like an elaborate pointed star-shaped ornament, while the other was a sort of bag. He was hoping to go for the items on the second shelf below the first, but it was made difficult due to the fact that it was directly underneath the top one, making access to it difficult. He could get the vine down there easily enough, but he couldn't see what he was doing once he swung it underneath the first shelf.

"I can't get at them!" he said.

"Looks like we may have to send someone down there," said Olto.

"And who's that going to be?" asked Ashelin.

"I guess I'll do it," said Jak, "You guys can lower me down and I can grab them and bring them back up with me."

It was definitely a risky plan, but their tests conducted with the strength of the vine made them feel a little safer about it. They were determined it wouldn't snap so the only thing he had to worry about was the effective handling of the vine from the others.

"Alright," they said, "Good luck, Jak."

Jak placed his foot into the loop on the vine, and making sure it was in there good and secure, shifted over to the edge of the rim. He sat with his legs dangling into the pit, and he looked down to see it once again going infinitely downwards out of his sight. He held onto it further up with his hand, and then said to his friends, "OK, you guys ready?"

The three others grabbed a tight hold of the vine, and nodded to signify their acknowledgement. They'd positioned themselves strategically along the sides of the dome and on the ground. Ashelin was closest to him, and was holding the line behind him tautly. Torn was further down at the base of the dome doing the same and Olto was close to the tree managing the slack on the vine.

"Alright, I'm going in," said Jak, "When you feel two tugs on the rope, then stop lowering me. When you feel three, pull me back up." Then he pushed himself over into the gap.

The others slowly lowered him down into the pit, gently loosening the slack on the vine as his head disappeared below the rim. From this point on, they had no idea how he was doing, and could only communicate via the specified tugs on the vine. It wasn't long before they felt them, as there wasn't far to go to reach the next shelf of items.

Jak came to a halt inside the pit and hung next to the circular shelf that encompassed him. He looked up briefly at the rim of sky above, and then down below where the pit just continued endlessly. He still couldn't see the bottom, and now he was inside the dome, he felt a strange energy all around him, and the hum of the earth coursed though his body.

He looked to his left and saw three more small items on the shelf, so he reached out and grabbed the smallest. It was small enough to fit inside his pocket, and it was walnut-shaped, so he slipped it into his trousers and then reached for the others. The next one was a cylindrical container that seemed to emit a dim red glow from the round window in its side. Jak immediately recognised it as a casket of red eco, and tucked it under his arm.

The third item looked suspiciously like a power cell to him, though it appeared dormant and didn't shine with the radiance it usually should, and all the pieces that would normally orbit it were tucked neatly into place on its surface. Jak picked it up and placed it in his other pocket, and then reached up to the top shelf and grabbed the rod that he'd failed to catch with the vine.

He pulled on the vine three times, and felt himself getting pulled up back into the sunlight. When he emerged, he clambered back onto the rim of the dome and presented his finds to his friends.

"Take a look," he said, and handed them out.

They were then placed with the others, before Jak was once again lowered into the pit. "I'm going to try and bring up a big one next," he said.

Once again he paused next to the shelf, and tried to pull a heavy item towards him. He shifted it closer to the edge of the shelf, but was worried about when he would take it off, as he was unsure if the vine would hold the extra weight. Luckily, there were handles attached to this one, so it wasn't too difficult to get a good hold of it. He wound part of the vine around his arm to ensure he was still firmly attached, and then reached out with both hands. He lifted the item and strained for a moment with the weight, and then paused to see if he was still suspended. There were no ill effects, and the vine was holding steady, so he yanked on it three times with his entwined arm. He began to slowly rise up again, slower than before due to the extra weight, but he came to the top before long and set the heavy artefact down on the top of the dome.

"That's a big one!" said Olto.

Jak pulled himself up the rest of the way, and pushed the item towards Ashelin.

For the remainder of the day, they pulled more and more items from the dome, with brief breaks in between. Soon they had a vast pile of Precursor artefacts to examine, and one by one, they were taken back to the shelter on the beach. As the afternoon came to its midpoint, they all sat down together to inspect their finds, and try to discover their potential uses.

First, Jak assessed the items he recognised. The round power cell-type item he'd found was indeed a power cell, but there was little energy remaining in it. It was closed shut and stuck tight, and they couldn't get it to open no matter what they tried.

Jak also turned to the container of red eco, which was opened without too much hassle. Though the amount inside was small, they made use of it by recharging Ashelin's gun, which was running low on power charge.

Another thing Jak recognised was a wooden case, which they managed to open easily, and inside was a vast collection of Precursor orbs. Everyone was surprised to see such an amount, as Precursor orbs were rare nowadays, and their wealth was unsurpassed back in the city.

"Wow! We're rich!" said Olto excitedly.

"But they're no good to us here," said Ashelin.

"But he's correct in the fact that we're rich now," said Torn, "Do you know how much these orbs plus the price of all the other items we have here will bring to us?"

Nobody quite had the mental capacity to work it all out fully, but they all agreed that it would indeed be quite a lot.

"They weren't always as expensive as they are today," said Jak, "These things used to be everywhere."

Next they sat down together and looked at the remaining items. At first they found it difficult to establish where to start, but eventually they settled with pulling a random object from the pile. They found themselves looking at another sort of casket, similar to the wooden one from earlier, but there was no clear way of opening it. However, like the dome, it must have a hidden mechanism of some sort. They began examining every side of it, and eventually they found a hatch that slid open.

Underneath this hatch was a collection of buttons that must have symbolised some sort of code that needed to be entered. Of course they had no way of knowing what this code was, and they were stumped for answers. They were forced to set down the casket and choose another item.

"How about this one?" said Torn, and lifted up the rod Jak had collected.

"Alright," said Ashelin, "Where shall we start with this one?"

Torn held it in his hands while they all looked over it with inquisitive eyes. It was Olto who spotted a miniscule button near the end of it, and when it was pressed the whole thing extended to three times its original length. The opposite end opened up and a blue spark fizzled out of the end, but spluttered and died just as quickly as it had appeared.

"What's this then?" said Torn.

"That wasn't just any blue spark," said Jak, "That was a trace of blue eco. This thing must have run on blue eco back when it was working properly."

"What do you think it was for?" asked Olto.

"I don't know," answered Jak, "Maybe it was some sort of tool? People used blue eco to activate all sorts of things. It was used as a source of energy. It was what powered Sandover back in the past, and it could bring life to anything, even all the ancient Precursor machinery that hadn't worked in years."

He pressed the button again, and the rod retracted into its compact position. "My guesses though are that it's some sort of portable tool or weapon. I've not seen one of these before."

"Can we use it for anything here?" asked Ashelin.

"Only as another prop for the shelter," suggested Torn, "Or to draw pictures in the sand," he added jokingly as a bit of fun.

The bag though was completely the opposite. It was always useful to have an extra container to put things in, and they'd almost filled up all their makeshift ones, which were beginning to fall apart. And this bag was much larger on the inside than it looked.

The majority of the remaining items posed difficult to establish exactly what their true purposes were. But for many of them, a new secondary use was found. Among them were small bowl shaped-items that could be used for containing food or water. There were also several more leaf-shaped objects that served well as shovels, and lots of small round ornaments that were placed along the edge of the roof of their shelter by Olto, just for a little more beautification. It wasn't entirely necessary, but it made them happier to see such additions.

One other interesting item was a large axe, or at least that's what they thought it was. A sharpened blade of Precursor metal was wedged into a long rod with a split in the top. This could be just what they needed to make wood gathering much easier to start construction on the potential boat they'd planned to build. They tested its strength and ability on a thick branch from their collection, and it cleaved it neatly in two with one swing. Impressive.

As the evening drew near, they'd come up with a suitable use for many of the recovered items. But they were still determined to find more. They sat down together and discussed whether they would make another trip back to the dome, or save it for tomorrow. They soon decided to go again, as they were too excited to wait until the next day.

Back they went into the forest and towards the centre of the island once again. This time they took the bag with them, to aid them in bringing up more items at once.

"Who's going to go in this time?" asked Jak, "I don't particularly want to do it again."

"I'll go," said Torn, "I want to see down there for myself."

It was decided then. Torn readied himself with the vine and Jak took his place at the bottom of the dome. As they let him slowly down into the pit, Torn looked around in amazement. He still couldn't believe the scale of the whole thing. But there were a few questions that now sprung to mind. Did this pit keep on descending or was there actually a bottom somewhere down there? How did the lights on the wall remain lit, and what were they running on?

He pulled on the rope when he reached the next full shelf, signifying to his friends to stop lowering him. He looked around and immediately grabbed a few small objects, slipping them into his pockets, and then putting some of the larger objects into the bag. They didn't feel as heavy in the bag as they did when he was holding them, and this just proved to him how effective a carrier this little bag was.

When he was satisfied with his load, Torn slung the bag over his shoulder, picked up one more item with his spare hand, and pulled on the rope. He ascended upwards, watching the shelves pass him by on the way, and was pleased with their collections. The first seventeen shelves down were now completely stripped of their items, and when Torn came back up again, he proudly displayed his findings to the others.

He went down again twice more and returned with more items in the bag. All this time the vine remained strong, though they considered getting another one ready soon just in case. But before the end of the day, Torn felt a deep sense of adventure within him, and on the last descent, he said to the others, "I want to go down as far as I can. I want to see where this goes and where the bottom is."

"You still might not get an answer," said Jak.

"Yeah, but we can try," said Torn, "Lower me in again, and don't stop until you run out of length."

The three others decided to agree to let him follow his sense of adventure, and make it the final trip of the day. Once more they lowered Torn down into the dome, and kept on unravelling the vine until they ran out. As Jak and Ashelin loosened their grip and let the vine slide slowly through their hands, Olto behind them passed on more and more from the curled up slack on the ground beside him. Occasionally he checked the bond on the tree to see if it was still holding up. This was without a doubt one strong vine.

Torn watched the walls pass him by upwards as he descended lower and lower. He looked down at his feet and saw the endless tunnel below him, plunging deeper and deeper into the earth and continuing out of his sight. He kept his eyes downwards until the vine jerked to a halt and he was left dangling in mid-air.

"That's it!" said Jak's voice from far above him. For the first time since the descent began, Torn looked up to see how far he'd gone. The rim of blue sky above him seemed distant, and he felt encompassed in the dark earth, illuminated only by the mysterious glowing lamps that clung to the walls all around him.

When he came to his senses, he looked at the shelves around him and saw many similar artefacts. Then he looked down at the lower shelves and saw something that caught his immediate attention. There was something large and streamlined below him, but he could only see half of it, being almost obscured by the shelf above it. He was curious, because it looked like something he recognised. He performed an incredibly risky manoeuvre, slipping his foot out of the loop and sliding down the vine with his hands until he caught the loop and hung lower down to get a better look. He was still high above it, but he could see it now, and he knew exactly what it was. A deep sense of shock came over him and for a moment he froze. Then he saw another one next to it, and a third. His heart pounded in his chest and his mind spun around. "Pull me up!" he shouted, desperate to tell the others the news. He zoomed upwards at an incredible speed, rescued by the others who thought he was in danger. They pulled him out of the dome breathless and exhausted.

"What did you see?" they asked.

"Zoomers…"


	22. Birds of Fire

The day had finally come. Now was the time for the people of Haven to finally set off towards the city of their enemies and do some damage of their own. For months they'd put up with relentless attacks, but now it was time for revenge. Great tension hung in the air, but also great regret. Everyone knew that this war had not come about on purpose. Through grave misunderstandings and extremely unfortunate luck, the people of Haven City had made a powerful new enemy, and had spent nearly a year now defending themselves from the onslaught of the people of Idandi, as a punishment for the death of their leader and his most powerful companions. Unfortunately they did not understand the truth of the events, and had spontaneously launched a war out of aggression against their leader's killers.

The people of Haven had had no choice but to defend themselves day after day as more and more jets kept coming and coming. Destruction spread throughout the city, and soon buildings were being destroyed quicker than they were being repaired. They'd fought back with courage and patriotism, and had done well to keep up this effort throughout the entire war. In fact, they'd brought down so many enemy jets, that they'd indirectly managed to turn the tide in their favour. They now had more men than their enemies, and with enough technology salvaged from the wreckage of enemy jets crashed in the city, they now possessed the ability and the confidence to move on out and attack them for once.

They knew there was no other option. The only way to put this to an end would be to annihilate their opponents, and both cities knew this. Though Haven was willing to negotiate, the people of Idandi were having none of it. They were so focussed on avenging their fallen leader that diplomacy was out of the question.

It was sad to see these events unfurl, but it had to be done. With the co-ordinates of the enemy city, the fighters of Haven could now find it and head over there. Though they still lacked the teleportation technology they'd salvaged from their enemies. But they could still fly over there, even though it would take them a while, but it was something that had to be done. Now was the time to move, and everyone was finally ready to see the end of the fighting, after such a long time.

An air force was prepared. The vital factories worked tirelessly to build more Hellcats and more heavy bombers. It would be the greatest assembly of aircraft in the city's entire history, and there was a hope that it would not be necessary to make one this large ever again. A time of peace was anticipated after this war was finally over, and nobody ever wanted to go back to how things were in the past; living in the constant shadow of threat from a hostile force.

Tonnes of ammunition were produced at the factories, enough to completely wipe out their enemies for good. The J78 bombers that were under construction were capable of carrying a considerable weight of bombs and missiles, and combined, their destructive force was phenomenal. It was something that no one would want dropped on their homeland, as there was little chance of revival after a bombing raid. Each bomb had a blast radius of over half a kilometre, and even if anyone could miraculously survive a forceful rainstorm of several thousand of these, they would find nothing left around them to ensure their survival. The explosions caused by these bombs would kill all life in the soil and scatter it over wide areas, leaving no way for crops to grow or buildings to be built. Chemicals from the bombs would also seep into the earth and atmosphere, resulting in pollution of the ground and the air, making habitation of the targeted area impossible.

Construction of these insidious devices had been underway for some time, ever since the strength of the enemy started failing. There'd been a rise in employment in the industry also, as everyone was so determined to get it done as quickly as possible, and contribute in some way to the cause. Before long, everyone was helping out. This excelled them further past their enemies, even though they both had a devotion to their city and winning the war, the people of Haven shared an organised strategy of systematic teamwork, which helped them to get the task done much more quickly.

Torn was impressed by the size of his force when he'd finally put a battle plan together. He even had to make a few modifications here and there to cater for the immense scale of his army. Minimal loss had occurred to their forces during the fighting, and after a few days of no attacks, they felt fresh and ready for action.

One day, Torn was relaying his plan to his top generals in the Freedom HQ Building. There was to be an escort for the bombers to defend them from any other remaining enemies they may encounter along the way. There were sure to be defensive measures at the enemy city, and bombers alone would not be able to accomplish the task. They needed protection.

Many Freedom Guards gathered together in the hangar, preparing their aircraft on the morning of their departure. They were busily making technical checks, applying fresh coats of paint, and stocking up on fuel and ammunition, both of which were vital if they were to successfully carry out the mission. Everywhere there was work going on. The hangar itself was just a bustling mass of soldiers and technicians and engineers, all doing their part to ensure victory would be brought to them.

In fact even the streets were being used as prep areas, as there were too many vehicles for the hangar to accommodate. Everyday citizens helped out if they happened to pass by.

When the preparation was almost complete, Torn looked down onto the city below him from the window of the HQ building, and smiled to himself. He knew that with a force of this measure, there was no way they could lose. Ashelin stood by his side and looked over the work with him.

"How's your speech coming along?" she asked.

"It's ready," he answered, "Before we set off, we should let the people know of our impending victory, and deliver this speech from up here on the balcony."

Meanwhile, Jak was with Daxter over in the port, just leaving the Naughty Ottsel. Daxter had said his goodbyes to Tess and a few loyal bar patrons and marched off with Jak to their designated cruiser at the Freedom HQ Building. They were looking forward to the journey, Jak more than Daxter, but they each knew that they would be once again hailed as heroes when they returned victorious. This was the main reason why Daxter was agreeing to come with him on the mission, as it was something he couldn't get enough of. Of course if he stayed, he could spend as much time as he wanted with Tess, but coming home a hero again would very probably make her like him even more.

They grabbed a nearby zoomer and launched off into the sky, towards the Freedom Headquarters. People cheered below as he passed over their heads, recognising their hero and their saviour and praising him for once again bravely volunteering to put an end to this miserable tiresome war. Daxter stood up on Jak's shoulder and graciously bowed to everyone below him, basking in their admiration which was meant to be aimed at Jak.

"Thank you very much!" he said, grinning madly. But he suddenly found himself clinging to Jak's shoulder again as they rounded a corner, nearly falling off onto the street below.

Very soon they arrived at their destination, and there were people gathered everywhere, eagerly awaiting their soldiers to heroically take off in their cruisers on course to the enemy city. The air was filled with gossip as the two of them came in to land on an empty space of ground close to the building. Jak dismounted and made his way through the crowd to the front door, which didn't take long as everyone immediately let him through when they saw who he was.

Up the lift he went into the main room where both Torn and Ashelin were waiting for him.

"You ready?" Torn asked.

"Certainly am," Jak answered.

"Eh, we're always up for a little rumble!" said Daxter, feeling very full of himself.

"The troops are nearly ready," Torn explained, "But before we can go, the people are expecting a speech from me, so that'll be the next item on the schedule."

"Good to hear it," said Jak. He knew that their image towards the people of the city was important, to show that they cared for them.

A buzz came through on Torn's radio, and he lifted it up to his ear. A smile came across his face as he received his message and placed it back into his pocket. "Time for the speech," he said, and stepped forward, opening the door on the balcony. He let Ashelin walk past him, and when she appeared to the crowd a roar filled the air. The people down below cheered excitedly at the sight of their leader, for they knew that she'd bring them through to the other side of this war, and lead them to victory. Torn also stepped up beside her, and Jak came to stand close by too.

As he looked down at the crowd covering the ground below him, he was astounded to finally see the whole of the human population that relied on them and their mission. Not a single part of the concrete pavement could be seen, and there were even people perched on little boats in some of the water-filled areas. Some adventurous individuals had even climbed atop the fountain in the centre to get a better look, despite becoming soaking wet, but they cheered wildly at the sight of them on the balcony. Even Daxter was amazed, and stopped blabbing to look at the vast audience below them.

Ashelin raised her hand, and the cheering stopped and slowly became silence. They all waited to hear her words.

"Today," she began, "We fly to rid our world of a great and powerful enemy that has plagued our doorstep for months now. We have fought and defended you and your city with bravery and determination that would make Mar proud. But now we move to bring the fight to the enemy to show them how they underestimated our strength. Our forces, led by the valiant commander Torn, will fly into the heart of their city and destroy it!"

She then stepped back two paces and Torn took her place.

"People of Haven," he announced, "Like you, I know what it is like to live under the constant threat of impending doom. We are no strangers to war, and this city has known few times of peace in its many years of existence. Ever since its construction, we have been defending her from hostiles that relentlessly attacked our city, intent on removing it from history. First was the Metal Heads, who we battled for generations under the guidance and leadership of Mar. Then came the civil war, when we were forced to battle on the streets against the insidious Krimzon robots and the vile force of the Metal Heads once again. Then once the war was over, we'd hoped for a time of rest, to get ourselves back on our feet and out of the darkness. But then these warriors came, bringing with them hope for a plentiful future alliance; until one tragic day when an ill-fated misjudgement was made, and they declared war on us.

"This war has continued to the present day, and we've been driven long and hard to defend ourselves from this constant onslaught. But we held on, and we fought back. Now, the enemy is weak, their numbers have dwindled, their attacks become less frequent, and less fierce. Our scientists have gathered together information and data leading us to the location of their homeland, and now is the time to move out and bring the war to them!

"Our aircraft contain enough explosives to wipe one sixth of the planet off the maps, and we shall return everything they have thrown at us over these many months in one single day! That day is today! Fear no more for your safety, people of Haven, for today this long war ends. Our air force is prepared, and now we set off to bring peace back to our city. Today we shall have victory!"

He threw his arms into the air and four dozen fireworks launched from the roof of the building, exploding in the sky in vibrant colours that awed the crowd below. Then they roared with great admiration as nearly four hundred Hellcats rose into the air all around the city, each group of three assigned to one J78 Megafortress bomber, laden with ammunition to raze the enemies' city to the ground. Their shadows drew over the crowd below, plunging the streets into darkness as they obscured the sunlight, and then flew across towards the mountains, where they hovered slowly until Torn and the others could join them in their cruisers.

All who watched stood amazed at the sight, and were filled with great hope and courage at the sheer size of their air force. Nothing could possibly bring down such might.

Torn, Ashelin, Jak and Daxter left the balcony and returned to the building.

"Great speech, Torn!" said Jak.

"I wasn't expecting the fireworks!" said Ashelin.

"Yeah, just something me and a few of the tech guys rigged up this morning," he explained, "But let's get to the hangar, the rest of the fleet is waiting for us."

They descended the lift right down to the bottom floor, where their cruisers were awaiting them in the now empty hangar. They all climbed aboard, but before they set off, Ashelin said to them, "So, this is it, the greatest mission in the history of Haven."

"Yeah," said Torn, "Hope it goes according to plan."

"Of course it will!" said Daxter, "We can't lose with this many cruisers!"

Torn was usually immediately annoyed whenever Daxter spoke, but this time he was pleased with his confidence.

To Jak, this was just another adventure. Sure he was aware of the significance of this momentous occasion, but he'd done this all before in the past, so he wasn't as excited about it as the others, but he felt the adrenaline rush nonetheless as he buckled himself into the cruiser.

Daxter reclined in the seat next to him, feeling free to relax for the long journey ahead of them.

"You ought to put your seatbelt on," Jak warned him.

Daxter didn't feel like it, it would only be uncomfortable and hinder his relaxation. "Nah," he said, "I'll be fine. This mission'll be a breeze."

Jak capitulated to Daxter's argument, and just concentrated on flying the cruiser, but still felt uneasy about his friend.

The engines hummed into life, and they slowly rose into the air and through the open hatch in the ceiling. They were greeted once again by the cheering crowd, and they each waved out the window as they flew over the buildings. Whether those on the ground noticed it or not, they continued cheering as the three cruisers moved to join the head of the others.

And so off they went, over the mountains and into the unknown, heading towards their destiny. Ashelin took centre-front, with Torn to her left and Jak to her right, serving as the three leading cruisers that would guide the immense force behind them to a great and mighty victory. It was like dragging the world's largest caravan through the sky; wherever they went the force behind followed immediately after. But they had a strict formation to keep to, and they were all soon placed into their designated positions. Ashelin, Torn and Jak stayed at the front, and behind them was a long line of twenty four Hellcats, protecting a line of twelve bombers behind them. This configuration continued for eight lines back, and above these lines were another eight lines of Hellcats and bombers. It was truly a sight to behold, one that would make any enemy of theirs fear for their survival.

Ashelin felt proud to be leading the force, and knew that with one of this scale they could not possibly be defeated. Then Torn looked down at the ground below him, and watched as another vast troop of Hellcats and bombers rose up from the Drill Platform base, and moved to the back of the formation to join up with them. This added even more strength to their air force, and further reinforced their confidence in victory.

Ashelin reached into her pocket and pulled out a data drive from the scientists, and slotted it into the onboard computer. Immediately the data was processed, and the co-ordinates of their destination flashed up on screen, before being inputted into the system and revealing a path to their enemies' city. Then the autopilot engaged and steered them towards the direction. The information was relayed to all other craft in the formation and they all did the same.

Once past the mountains, a vast stretch of land opened up before them that extended beyond the horizon. The earth was lifeless and empty, and there was nothing to be seen for miles around in all directions. Those at the front of the formation sensed a great feeling of solitude, being the only people out in the barren wasteland. Nobody lived out in this area; it was too barren for even the hardiest nomads. It was incredibly lonely, and they had only each other to stay comforted.

Ashelin received a message from Freedom Headquarters. "You're over the mountains; you're in foreign territory now. Good luck, governor."

"Thank you," replied Ashelin, "We'll see you when we get back."

"So, how long till we get there?" asked Daxter, reclining in his seat and settling himself for the journey.

"Several hours, Dax," Jak answered, "We've got a long way to go."

"Ah well," said Daxter, "Tell me when the action starts." With that he slumped down and closed his eyes. Jak looked at him and smiled, knowing how bored Daxter often got on long journeys. Luckily this time he wasn't moaning about it as much as he usually did, so that was one thing that kept him and all the others around him happy.

"The open road…" said Torn, looking out at the world ahead of him.

The others looked forwards as well, taking in the desolate scenery. But then the marvel of adventure returned to them, and they returned to focussing on their journey.

"You don't think we'll get attacked on the way there, do you?" asked Ashelin, "They must have some sort of external defence."

"They always teleport everywhere, remember?" said Torn, "They have the location of our city and their own, but they can't have anything to search for in between us."

"Or do they?" said Jak. They all thought back to their first encounter out in the ocean.

"Anyway, they shouldn't expect us to fly all the way there," said Torn, "That's the beauty of this plan. Plus the chances of them bumping into us out here are slim. We are statistically safe."

Ashelin looked down at her screen again. It wouldn't make the journey go any faster, but she always liked to know exactly how far they had left to travel. Still a long way yet. She rested back in her seat as the autopilot led them along its calculated route. Before the end of the day, they would arrive at their destination and unleash hell upon their enemies. A certain victory awaited them, but it was still several hours ahead. They could do nothing but talk to each other along the way, as they disappeared into the distance and further away from home. This would be Haven City's last great mission, for afterwards there would be no more enemies to fight, no more foes to defend themselves from, and no more compromises. The children of Mar were finally going to be free.


	23. Open Waters

Upon learning about the discovery of zoomers down the Precursor pit, a new sense of hope and excitement came over the island.

At first, none of the others could believe Torn when he said he'd seen zoomers down the pit, and they tried to grasp the concept of what this meant to them. Could this really be the way off the island? Could these zoomers take them to freedom?

"Are you really sure they were zoomers, Torn?" asked Ashelin.

"Definitely," said Torn, "I know what I saw. They were primitive, but they were zoomers alright."

Jak now had a much greater vision of the events. He remembered piloting Keira's first prototype of the zoomer all those years ago, a machine that back then was a brand new revolutionary invention. Nowadays it was a habitual and commonplace item and everybody had one. Were these some of the originals? He'd have to see them himself to be absolutely sure.

"Send me down," said Jak, "I want to see them."

"We all want to see them," said Olto, "They may just be our key to escape."

"That is if they still work," said Ashelin.

That was a point. Like a few of the things already recovered from the pit, they may be so old and dilapidated after years of neglect that they may have ceased to function properly. Then they'd be stuck on the island for even longer.

But Jak would be able to tell, if he could just get a look at them.

"Trust me," he said, "Keira was the one who designed and built the first ever zoomer, and I was the first to drive it. If these ones down there are as old as that, then I'll be able to examine them and see how they work and if we can still use them."

"I never knew that," said Torn, "Looks like you're just the man for the job. Go on then, we'll lower you down."

Jak was extremely excited as he got himself ready to descend into the earth once more. If he could just get a good look at these zoomers, his intrinsic knowledge about their nature would tell him if they were still usable and if they could use them to escape the clutches of the island. As he was lowered down into the pit, he kept his gaze fixed below him, searching for the shelf which contained these illusive vehicles. He feared he may not find them or see them easily, but when the vine came to a halt, he could see the edge of one poking out from under the shelf above it.

"I see them!" he shouted back upwards, and he awkwardly got himself into a position where he could see them in more detail. They looked exactly like he remembered them in Sandover, and a stream of memories came racing back to him. But he wasn't here to reminisce; he had a task to do.

His eyes moved to the front end of the one nearest to him, and he found the control panel. It looked so incredibly different to the modern-day zoomers he'd now got used to driving, but he instinctively knew how to operate the old model upon seeing it. In the centre of the dashboard was a large round button that he knew was the one to press to start the engine. He thought about pressing it, but then realised that it would not have been such a good idea, because if it worked, the two large propellers attached to it would start whirring, and possibly knock it off the shelf down into the darkness of the pit or damage the others. He'd have to find another way of determining if they were still in working condition.

He soon became frustrated. It was too cramped in the dome to make a proper judgement; and he swung awkwardly on the vine, preventing him from easily getting a good look. He'd have to bring them up into the open if he was to examine them fully. But how would he do that?

"Do they work, Jak?" Torn shouted from above.

"I can't tell from here," Jak responded, "They look alright, but we'll have to bring them up if we can know for sure."

"Will the vine take the weight?"

Jak was unsure. "I hope so," he guessed. It was a risk they'd have to take.

First he tried to reach out and get a good hold on the zoomer. He managed to pull it towards himself a little, but he knew that if he tried to lift it off the shelf he would be unable to hold onto it for long. It was just too heavy.

Another plan came to mind though. The only way he could think of getting it up safely would be to lash it to the vine. But with the added weight it would most likely snap and fall. There was only one thing for it; he'd have to step off.

He nimbly swung over to the shelf above the zoomers and caught a hold of the rim. With his other hand, he pushed a few small artefacts out of the way before carefully climbing up onto it. There wasn't much room for him to lie down properly and he was rather uncomfortable with his position, but he felt determined and confident about his plan. The others above felt the motion of the vine and the sudden weight loss and feared that Jak may have fallen.

"I'm tying the zoomer to the vine!" he shouted upwards, both explaining his plan and extinguishing their fears at the same time.

"Alright, we're ready," Torn shouted back.

Jak pulled the vine over to him and reached it down as far as it would go. But it didn't reach. He couldn't attach the vehicle to the vine without lifting it up.

"I need more length!" he shouted.

"We haven't got any more!" he heard Olto shouting.

"Untie it from the tree then!" Jak ordered. He knew that there would be enough extra length to bring it further down to a manageable level once this was done. The others felt uneasy about this. After all, none of them could see down the hole and Jak was too deep and obscured by other shelves to be seen. "Don't worry, it's not attached to anything," he reassured them.

Olto then began untying the vine from the tree and Torn walked up to the pit and looked down. He couldn't see Jak anywhere, but he followed the trail of the vine down and could see it moving so he knew that he was alright. There was now a few feet of extra length in the vine, and it was enough for Jak to securely tie his end to the tail of the zoomer.

"Get ready!" he shouted back up, "The zoomer's attached and it's going to be heavy!"

Everyone at the top grabbed a firm hold of the vine and awaited Jak's signal.

"OK, lift it up!" he shouted.

The others began pulling with all their strength, and slowly the vehicle began to move upwards. Jak supported it with his hands during the early steps of the ascent, until it was lifted out of his reach. He carefully leaned out and watched it move up from below, keeping a close eye out for any signs of trouble. The others made good progress hauling it up to the surface, and before long they'd brought it out into the evening light into full view.

Both Olto and Ashelin were amazed at what they saw. They were looking at history, the predecessor of their main form of transport back in Haven City. To their eyes it looked incredibly primitive, but this just further deepened their awe for just how far they'd come and how much the technology had improved.

But there were still two more zoomers to be picked up, and Jak was still waiting down the hole for the return of the vine. His friends didn't want to keep him waiting, so they quickly untied the zoomer, pushed it aside and returned the vine down the hole again.

Once more Jak repeated the routine and attached the vine to the second zoomer, in much the same fashion as the first. He once again gave his signal and watched as the second zoomer was pulled up to the surface. This time, he had a quick look around him at some of the artefacts they'd yet to pick up. Right next to him he spotted for the first time another canister of eco. That would be useful. He picked it up and stuffed it into his jacket.

Very soon, the vine came back again and Jak was ready to tie it to the final zoomer. He had to shuffle around the edge of the shelf to reach it, as it was on the opposite side of the room and too far away to reach from where he was. He had to move a few more artefacts around, making sure not to knock any over the edge in case they could come back for them later.

When he finally got into a manageable position, he reached down for the last time and got the vine attached neatly around the back end of the zoomer. He shouted back up again and the zoomer began to rise up and out of sight. Back at the top, Torn, Ashelin and Olto were nearing the end of their strength, but they put their best effort into getting this final one up to the surface and to safety. After they'd accomplished the arduous task, they all felt really pleased with themselves. They'd rescued three zoomers and given themselves a possible means of escape. But they couldn't rest yet; Jak was still stuck down the hole and they had to get him out before the night came. This wasn't a problem; the vine was tied to the tree once again and then lowered down into the pit for Jak to return to the surface.

Before the sun was set below the horizon, all three zoomers had been recovered from the pit and Jak was now safely back amongst his friends. They were satisfied with what they'd achieved, and with the new possibilities of escape that now presented themselves before them. It was a momentous occasion, but after spending a day at work, they were all thoroughly exhausted and needed some rest.

"Ah well, good day's work…" said Olto.

"Yeah, we did good," remarked Torn.

"I think we all deserve a good night of rest now," said Ashelin.

"Tomorrow, we should try and get those zoomers working," said Jak. He was too tired to examine them right now, and there was no longer enough light left in the sky to see any details in the machinery. They all knew this, and even though they were still immensely excited about the whole thing, they had to get some sleep first.

They decided to bring the zoomers with them back to the shelter on the beach, to save them time walking back to them in the morning. They had to make two trips, as obviously the zoomers were too heavy for one person to carry alone, and there were four of them, so that meant two to each zoomer. As they carried them back through the trees, Ashelin, Torn and Olto were amazed at the quality of the machines, and tried to imagine how it would have been like to live with them back in the past.

"These things look so primitive!" said Ashelin, "I mean look, they've got propellers on them!"

"And they weigh a ton!" said Olto, who was much used to the more lightweight modern ones.

"How did you ever cope with these, Jak?" asked Torn.

"You never experienced life in the past," said Jak, "Since you've got all this modern equipment and technology, and have lived with it for all your lives, you've grown accustomed to it as normal and everyday. Back in the past when this was all we had, we made do with it. We didn't have your future way of living, and this was our normality."

"Hmm, makes sense to me," said Olto, "I guess you're right."

"Yeah, just imagine how I felt when I first came here to the future, and saw all these great advancements. Your normal world was completely new to me. I didn't know what to expect."

After having finally arrived back at their shelter, they carefully placed the zoomers down on the sand close to their tool supply. Jak and Torn went back to fetch the third, while Ashelin and Olto stayed back to prepare some food. Their most exciting and rewarding day had come to an end, and the sky was now dark and cloudless, the island illuminated only by the dim light of the green sun. But even after all this excitement, there remained a strange feeling of unease, one that had not been felt before on the island. It was peculiar that just before the next day arrived, they were visited by this obscure and seemingly unexplained emotion, just after a momentous find. But then again, nothing ever really comes without a price, and if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

When Torn and Jak returned with the final vehicle, they set it down with the others and came to where a warm fire was now burning nicely on the beach. They enjoyed another round of nicely cooked food together once again, and discussed whether their hopes of finally getting away from the island and getting back home would happen.

Though Jak still had yet to properly examine the ancient vehicles, he was pretty sure they would still work. The condition they were in was impressive, and even better than his old one back in Sandover. Then again, his had been through fire canyons and mountain passes, and sustained some damage in doing so. These ones had been preserved well in the hidden dome under the earth, and had likely not even been used before their long storage. It had been purely by accident that the hidden dome had been rediscovered through the events of the weather, nature's greatest earth-shaping tool. And it was all a wonder that there had been people there at the time to excavate further and bring it back into the light of existence.

The night grew darker, and soon the fire began to burn down. Nobody bothered to add more fuel; they needed some rest now after this amazing day.

"Tomorrow we shall see if our expectations come true," said Torn. Everyone was hoping that they would. Even though they'd grown very attached to the island over the weeks they'd spent here (it had been their home after all) they longed to return back to Haven City and get back to their friends and their normal lives.

"Yeah, I think it's about time we went home," said Ashelin.

They all went to sleep that night in high spirits, under the roof of the shelter that they'd built from scratch by themselves, their only true protection against the elements. Would this really be the last night they would spend sleeping underneath it?

High above them, the tops of the trees shuddered.

Throughout the night, the sky remained clear and starry, with no sign of clouds anywhere to be seen. There was no wind, and the sea was flat and still as an untouched blanket. It remained this way until morning, when the sun arose for the final time over the island. It was a big day today, and a great occurrence was about to take place.

When Jak awoke, he sat up and looked to his left. The zoomers were still sitting right where they'd left them, and Jak smiled knowing that today he would finally be able to get a proper look at them and assess their capabilities. Olto was lying next to him, still asleep, and Ashelin and Torn must have already got up for they were nowhere to be seen nearby.

Jak carefully got up and crawled out onto the sand. He shook himself until he was fully awake and thought back briefly to last night. He couldn't remember any dreams from the night, but that didn't bother him too much. He walked down onto the beach and looked around. All the footprints from the previous day no longer remained, washed away by the tide when it came in during the night. Therefore it was easy to spot where Torn and Ashelin had gone. From the looks of it they'd both walked off together, and he followed the tracks until he came to where the beach rounded the corner of the island. It was here where he found Ashelin relaxing on the sand. Torn was nowhere around.

"Hey," she said when she saw Jak appear.

"Where's Torn?" Jak asked.

"He's round the other side of the island having a wash," she explained, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I had any more special dreams."

"Me neither," said Ashelin, "Maybe it's moved away now."

"It was fun while it lasted," said Jak and came to sit down beside her.

"You looked at those zoomers yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet," said Jak, "I was going to move them out onto the beach but I can't do it by myself."

"Well let's go do it now," said Ashelin, then they both got to their feet and headed back the way they'd come.

Upon arriving at the shelter, they quietly crept past the sleeping Olto and one by one, lifted the heavy zoomers out onto the open beach. Now they could get a look at them in good light. The sun reflected off their shiny Precursor metal and they glimmered in the sand like ancient jewels.

Ashelin looked over them again, taking in the full sight of these antique pieces of mechanical history. But Jak was the one who wanted to do a full inspection. He checked them from every angle, and it was all perfectly like his old one from Sandover. It was like an old memory manifesting itself back in front of his eyes. But he'd digress to his old memories better if he actually drove it.

"They all look in order to me," he said, then mounted the one nearest to him and inspected the control panel. He grabbed a hold of one of the handlebars and held his other hand over the central button on the dashboard, but before he pressed it he looked Ashelin in the eyes and said, "Here we go, the moment of truth!"

They both held their breath, and Jak pushed the button in while at the same time twisting the handlebar forwards. The engine hummed, getting louder and louder, and the propellers began whirring round and round, and he had to lift up his feet to avoid them getting sliced by the base one. He slowly hovered into the air and stayed stationary a few inches above the ground. Sand was blown up all around him, and Ashelin had to stand back to avoid getting covered. But at the same time, she was filled with overwhelming joy. The zoomer worked! But boy was it noisy!

Jak was excited too, and he slowly leant forward and pushed on the handlebars. He moved slowly across the sand, getting used to the old steering system again. When he was satisfied he brought it slowly to a halt and switched off the engine.

"YES!" he shouted and leapt off the vehicle. But his excitement got the better of him and he ended up falling on his face. Ashelin bounced hysterically up and down on the spot with her arms thrown in the air in celebration. They were so happy it took them several minutes to calm down.

Jak got back up and brushed the sand off himself, and then took a moment to think it all over.

"Isn't this great?" he said, "We can finally get off this forsaken island!"

"One of us can," said Ashelin, bringing him back to earth, "We still have to test the others."

After a few more minutes, the remaining two zoomers had been tested and both results proved successful. All three zoomers worked. But they still had to come to a solution of the problem that even though they all worked, there were in fact four of them stuck here on the island, and three obviously does not cater four people.

"Looks like we may have to share one," said Ashelin.

"Or we could make additions," said Jak, "Why don't we try extending it using some of the junk we've found?"

It sounded like a good plan to her. "I'll go and see what I can find," she said, and hurriedly dashed off back to the shelter to search through the large amount of junk metal they had gathered there. Her emotions were sky high when she got there, but they immediately plummeted into the ground when she saw what awaited her. She froze dead on the spot and a wave of shock and terror ran through her, rooting her feet to the ground. Then she screamed loud enough for the whole island to hear, and Jak instinctively got up from his position and ran over to her as fast as he could.

"What's happened?" he shouted frantically, but he received no answer from Ashelin, who he could see standing still as a stone beneath the trees. Sand was sent flying in all directions as he raced across the beach, and all of his positive emotions were suddenly forgotten as he came closer and closer to where trouble must be lying.

He arrived at the shelter, but he too was forced to a halt by what he saw. Now he understood what had made Ashelin so paralysed with fear. He himself had no words to say, but he just stood there, wide-eyed, open mouthed and with a mind now scarred forever.

Their trance was broken as Torn suddenly came crashing through the trees ahead of them, half dressed and dripping wet. He too had heard the scream from across the island and had rushed to the aid, only to find that there was nothing he could do.

Lying on their make-shift bed under the shelter was the body of Olto, lying in exactly the same position he'd been sleeping in, on his back with his arms resting naturally by his side, but he now had a gaping hole gnawed into his chest and the ground around him was stained with his blood. His blank face showed no signs of life at all, and his skin had gone pale as his precious life fluid spilled out around him. He remained motionless as the three others around him all stared in horror and disbelief. Torn clasped a hand to his mouth, shocked at the sight of one of his most loyal and hard-working troops lying mutilated before him. Of course living through both wars of Haven City had hardened him into a tough soldier and he'd seen many of his men slain before him by monsters; but Olto had been so close to him and the others during their time on the island, and his creativity and light cheery attitude had helped them to survive on many occasions. Now he was dead and his character was alive now only in their memories.

Jak spoke with the only words he could find, "How did this happen?"

A bitter and unpleasant tension hung in the air, and for the first time there was no sound to be heard on the island. Nobody could answer; none of them had the words or the heart to talk about it. But unfortunately they were soon to find out.

Olto's lifeless body started twitching, feebly at first, but then his chest jerked alarmingly, spilling yet more blood onto their sheltered bed, and Jak, Ashelin and Torn were horrified as they watched Olto's chest split further open as a monstrous, dark-haired spider emerged from the wound, dragging with it a piece of inner flesh in its mouth. It perched atop Olto's torn body and hissed fiercely at those standing around it.

Jak, Ashelin and Torn backed away uneasily, fearful for their own safety. Then Torn backed into one of the trees, and a large piece of a dark wood-like object fell to the ground before him, nearly hitting his head. He looked up, and could see similar pieces dangling from the very top of the tree, and slime oozed out of the gaps in between.

Up the opposite tree, there came a cracking sound. The topmost brown sphere of bark was splitting open, and more slime dribbled out. Then out of the top appeared another spider, bigger than the one that had slain Olto, covered in the slime that had once been inside the bark sphere with it, and its eyes were fixed on the three companions down below.

Jak suddenly realised what those spheres were, and a mystery that had remained unexplained since his first day on the island was answered. "They're eggs!" he whispered in disbelief. But suddenly, they were surrounded by more deadly cracking sounds that rang over the entire island.

"RUN!" shouted Ashelin.

Leaving their fallen companion, they raced off at top speed onto the beach and across the sand. Fear took them as they ran, desperate to escape the horror they'd just witnessed. To their right, more tree spheres began to crack open and more spiders emerged from inside. They were everywhere!

"What are we going to do?" shouted Torn, looking anxiously around him.

"We've got to hide," said Ashelin, "But where?"

"These trees are only along the forest outskirts," said Jak, "There are normal trees further inland. That's our best bet." It sounded like a good idea to them in their panicked state.

They turned toward the forest when they came to an opening that had no hatching trees, and went as fast as they could into the depths of the greenery. They sprinted over rough ground and through almost unsurpassable areas of overgrown plant life. Sharp branches scratched their faces and clothes until they came to a gradual halt in a hidden clearing in front of a large grey rock swathed in vines and moss. They all breathed heavily, regaining their stamina after extensive running, before checking their surroundings. The area seemed safe enough, it was quiet, and there was no sign of any spiders. Torn used this time to finally get his shirt back on, and then leant against the rock and stared upwards at the leaves above his head, while Jak remained alert and kept a look-out all around. Ashelin sat down on the ground, entranced in thought.

"I can't believe Olto's gone," she said melancholically.

Both Torn and Jak looked at her and shared her sadness. "He was a good man," said Torn.

"Yes, a worthy friend," agreed Jak. A silence fell over the clearing, and a sad atmosphere set in. They felt like traitors leaving his body behind to get devoured, but there was nothing else they could do for him. One more good and loyal friend was lost.

They all felt as if a deep part of their stomachs had disintegrated, losing a friend that had been so close and helpful and supportive over the extensive time spent on the island. They'd been scarred for life by Olto's death, shocking as it was. But their thoughts were interrupted as suddenly a rustle in the leaves disturbed them. A rogue spider had followed them into the clearing and lunged to attack them. It threw itself at Ashelin, who had to react quickly to defend herself. But her training in the Krimzon Guard had given her fast reflexes and an even faster mind. She knocked it aside in mid-jump with her arm and threw it to the ground, where it lay on its back struggling to get back upright. Ashelin rose to her feet and stamped on the spider's exposed thorax with her heavy boot, crushing its body into several fragmented pieces.

"That was close!" said Torn.

"We can't keep running," said Jak, "This won't work. We'll just tire ourselves and then the spiders will find us."

"He's right," said Ashelin, "We've got to defend ourselves. These spiders aren't that tough, we can defeat them easily."

This wasn't quite what Jak had in mind. "Actually, I was thinking of escaping the island. Now's the time! We've got to get to the zoomers!"

An agreement was settled. Now was the time to finally go back home. Even though they'd only tested the zoomers once this morning, they were definitely in fine working condition. They had no more time to waste; they were in mortal danger and had to get away from here as quickly as possible. But they had to get back to them first, and right now they were deep in the forest on the other side of the island.

They began moving quickly, through the forest this time because there were less of those spider trees further inland. They seemed to be situated only along the coast, so they should be safer cutting through the middle of the island.

They moved quietly as not to draw attention to themselves; if one spider found them, then more may come. For a few minutes the journey was uneventful, but soon they were stopped dead in their tracks by the sound of more rustling leaves and tiny pattering feet. More spiders were coming, and they were moving fast! It was hard to tell which direction they were coming from, but they had to act quickly before they ended up eaten. Instinctively, Ashelin spun around on the spot and drew her gun, pointing it roughly where she thought the sound was coming from. Her instincts proved correct as another huge spider emerged from the trees in front of her, hissing fiercely at its new-found prey. But unfortunately for it, Ashelin pulled the trigger and landed a hot piece of concentrated eco right between its many eyes, sending it reeling in anguish and rolling into the soil beneath it, screeching horribly.

But more spiders followed it, and Ashelin fired again and again. Torn and Jak, who had no guns, found themselves snapping branches off nearby trees and using them for self-defence, knocking spiders out of sight and spearing them with the sharp ends. Torn found himself returning to the close-combat tactics he'd learnt in the Krimzon Guard, and soon realised that he had come away with something useful after all.

The fighting continued for almost a minute as more and more kept flooding through the forest floor, but against three armed targets much bigger than they were, the spiders stood a very thin chance of getting what they desired.

When at last the area fell quiet, they all regained their composure and looked around for any more. Dead spiders lay all around, and a light wind brushed past their faces as they concluded that that was it for now.

"We've done well," said Ashelin, satisfied with herself after slaying several spiders who had just minutes ago been feasting on the flesh of her good friend Olto.

"We've got to keep moving," said Jak, feeling a little more cautious than before.

They pressed onwards, quickly and silently under the shelter of the high branches above them. No words were exchanged as they crept through the forest, keeping as low a profile as possible. Surely the spiders would be drawn to the sounds of the fight earlier, and they could not afford to stay in one place for too long. Luckily they met no more spiders until they reached the coastline.

The sunlight now illuminated a much different looking island. No longer was the coast lined with the smooth branchless trees that had once stood tall and dominant; they were now shaken and covered with the remaining slime that had once been housed inside the spider eggs nested on top. The eggs themselves now littered the ground about the trees in large cracked pieces. The light struggled to find the adventurers as they crouched behind a substantial clump of greenery halting their progress, acting cautiously before moving onwards. On the other side of this bush was the sand of the beach, but they did not know what would await them once they moved over.

After slaughtering a few spiders, they were beginning to feel more confident with themselves, but Jak knew it was not safe to move on at that pace.

"Come on, we can take them on!" said Torn, "They're only a bunch of spiders."

"But they killed Olto," said Jak, "And they could just as easily do that to us. I'm going to check if the coast is clear first."

He stuck his branch through the leaves and used it to push open a small gap through which he could observe the surroundings. He looked out for a few seconds before closing the gap and looking back at his friends, who weren't sure what to make of the expression on his face.

"Well? Are we good?" asked Ashelin.

Jak shook his head.

Torn sighed. "How many then?"

"Lots…" Jak whispered.

They stood up quietly, and looked over the bush. Sure enough, the beach was covered with spiders, and they were all sitting stationary on the warm sand. It was an eerie sight to see so many large insects grouped together like that, and even more so that they were just sitting there like statues.

"What are they doing?" asked Ashelin.

"They're waiting for us," said Torn, "They know we're here on the island somewhere, and they know the coast is our only escape. They're trying to block us off."

"What about those ones we encountered in the forest? What were they, scouts?"

"Maybe," said Jak. He was impressed by the co-ordination and organisation of these spiders. All other creatures he'd ever fought before had just mindlessly charged toward him and only decided what to do when they got there. He'd never seen anything like it before.

"What are we going to do then?" said Ashelin, "I can't shoot all of them at once, and my gun doesn't have the power to eliminate them all."

Jak carefully looked down the beach as far as he dared. It looked like the spiders had found their zoomers and had gathered round.

"We'll have to try and move around them, quietly," he said.

They moved onwards, through the trees to the left, keeping to the shadows and making as little noise as they possibly could. It wasn't easy to do so because the ground was littered with the shells of the spider eggs, which would crack loudly when stepped on. They kept moving until they came to the end of the long line of spiders, and before them now was empty sand. From this point they didn't have much of a plan.

"Now what?" asked Torn.

None of them had any idea. They were pretty stuck. But then Jak came up with something, the only thing he could think of. "We need a distraction."  
The others looked at him. "We haven't got one."

"We've got me," he said, "I'm going to try and lure them away from the zoomers, and you two make your way over there. Don't escape the island before I get back, OK?"

The others nodded, understanding the necessity of Jak's strategy. "We're not leaving without you."

"I'm counting on you," he said. "Alright, here we go. Remember, stay hidden until they've gone past."

Jak then got up and walked out into the middle of the beach. "HEY! You lot! Over here!" he shouted. Immediately the spiders spotted him and began moving. Jak moved back, and then began sprinting across the sand. The spiders followed, keeping a fixed distance between themselves and their prey. 'Damn, they're fast!' thought Jak, and he had to up the pace a little.

From the bushes, Torn and Ashelin watched as the hundreds of spiders noisily scuttled past them, and it took almost a minute for all of them to pass by. When at last the coast was clear and they'd all moved away, they made their move and left the cover of the bushes.

"I hope Jak makes it," said Ashelin.

"Relax, I'm sure he knows what he's doing," said Torn, "Besides, he's been through tougher scrapes than this before."

They spotted about a dozen spiders left behind around the zoomers as they progressed further up the beach, and soon they were seen. With lightning-fast reflexes, Ashelin whipped out her gun and fired, and before long they all lay dead on the ground with their brains splattered in the sand.

Ashelin and Torn approached the zoomers and kept an eye open for any more spiders that may still be lurking around. As far as they could see, there were none, and they seemed safe for now. Torn placed his hand on one of the vehicles, and thought to himself about their escape.

"How are we going to fly these things?" he asked.

"They can't be that different from our ones back in Haven," said Ashelin.

They took a while to familiarise themselves with the controls and buttons, and they soon figured out how to get things working. They also took the time to turn them all around to face the ocean, ready for a quick escape.

They were about ready to start them up, when Ashelin suddenly said, "Wait, we'll need supplies!"

"I don't think we'll have enough room to carry too much," said Torn.

"Bring what we can," she replied, "And the artefacts! We can't just leave them here."

Torn was persuaded to go back to the camp to pick up a few supplies, but he felt uneasy returning there. He took Ashelin's gun with him for safety.

When he got there shortly later, he inspected the place. It was somewhat messy now that the spiders had rampaged through it, and Olto's body was no longer under the shelter. Fortunately, they'd taken no interest in the pile of artefacts, and Torn headed over to collect a few, all the while staying alert for any danger.

Back at the zoomers, Ashelin was making her final preparations, and searching for suitable places to store the artefacts. The small ones would probably not be a problem, but the other much larger ones would prove difficult to accommodate.

Just then she looked up towards the end of the beach and heard a low rumbling sound. She knew that very little time remained and the spiders were coming back. Then she saw the tiny figure of Jak appear from around the far away corner of the beach. He ran alone for a few seconds towards her, but then a raging black swarm of spiders appeared behind him, racing across the sand at full speed like an incoming storm.

"START THE ZOOMERS!" Ashelin heard him shout, and immediately began switching them on.

"Torn! Time to go!" she shouted, and got on one of the vehicles. Almost immediately afterwards, Torn came racing out of the trees with his arms full of assorted items. He dropped a few as he came, but there was no time to stop and pick them up. Within seconds, the spiders would be on them. He passed a few of them to Ashelin who stuffed some of the smaller items in her pockets and managed to attach some of the larger ones to the back of the seat.

Jak came closer, but he knew he'd have to get moving quickly because he wouldn't have much time to get on his zoomer before the pursuing spiders caught up with him. He was running out of breath and began to slow, but his adrenalin and his determination to survive pushed him onwards, and his friends shouted to him to provide encouragement and extra support. All three zoomers were sitting there running, and as Jak came closer, he leapt onto the remaining empty one and shouted, "GO!"

They all revved the handlebars and the engine roared loudly into overdrive as the propellers span furiously and they shot off across the sand towards the water. The tide was going out and there was still a fair distance to travel, and the spiders, sensing their prey's escape, charged with all the strength in their legs.

The combined sounds from the engines deafened the three friends as they tried desperately to increase speed. "Can't these things go any higher?" shouted Ashelin.

"They only hover a few inches off the ground!" said Jak, still panting heavily, "Just keep driving!"

Some of the spiders shot off ahead of the group and managed to bring themselves in front of the zoomers, guarding the last traces of damp sand before the sea. They raised their front legs high above them and bore their sharp venomous fangs, hissing loudly.

"Hang on!" said Torn, and they ploughed the zoomers straight through them, decapitating them with their front propellers and zooming off over the water's surface. Jak looked behind them and saw the remaining spiders coming to a halt on the sand and screeching angrily after them. Some tried to follow and plunged into the water, only to sink and drown.

For two more minutes they drove onwards in silence until finally coming to a hovering standstill over the deep water. They all looked at each other, smiled, and cheered as loud as they could. They'd done it! They were finally off the island! They punched the air above them and high-fived each other, and just felt euphoric and ecstatic about their accomplishment.

"Yeah! Take that!" Torn shouted back at the island, "You think you can eat us? Pah! Not likely!"

"That's it; we're going home," said Jak, "Good work, guys."

For a few seconds they sat out in the ocean just looking back at the island that had been their home for the past two and a half months, and they felt sad to be leaving it behind. But their sadness was overwhelmed by so many other positive emotions. They just felt happy to be alive. But they knew they had to remember that Olto, like so many others before him, would never see home again. Yet another life lost for the price of the war.

"Well, that's that," said Ashelin, "We should get back to Haven now, our people need us and must know that we're safe now."

Torn looked into the bag he'd picked up at all the food he'd packed in there. There was enough to last a while, but they didn't know how long it would take them to get back to the city, or even in which direction they needed to go. But that didn't bother them; they felt they could do anything now.

"Let's not waste any more time then," said Jak, "Let's go."

Once again they revved up the engines and sped off across the water, homeward bound. They'd just been through a life-changing journey, and now they were returning back to the normal world and to their friends. Their adventure was not over yet. The wind rushed through their scraggy hair and their eyes were fixed on the horizon, and through their minds ran all their memories of the things they'd done together back on the island, as well as their thoughts for the future. A bright sky was ahead of them, and a cloudless passage that marked their journey home.


End file.
